Israel once again urgently appealed to the civilian population in the north of the Gaza Strip to flee south, given the intensification of attacks. At the same time, the Israeli army released a video of an interrogation of Hamas fighters in which they allegedly confirmed that Hamas uses hospitals and schools as camps and safe houses because they are protected from Israeli attacks. In the evening, Israel recalled diplomats stationed there in response to harsh Turkish criticism.
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Guido Tiefenthaler (text), Patrick Bauer (image), Birgit Samer (video), Daniela Illich (editing), all ORF.at/agencies
Turkey has expressed harsh criticism of Israel several times in recent weeks. On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul that Israel was just “a pawn” in the region that would be sacrificed “when the day comes.” The country is committing “war crimes”.
Galant: “New phase of the war”
According to Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant, operations in Gaza will continue “until a new order” – a “new phase of the war” has begun. “The earth in Gaza shook,” Galant said in a statement issued by his office.
“We attack above ground and underground, we attack terrorists of all categories and in all locations.” And further: “As for other areas, we are preparing to defend Israeli citizens and guarantee their safety. We do this in the North, in the Center and everywhere.” Galant’s comments come after a meeting with senior security officials from the army and intelligence services.
Cell phone and internet failed
Observers speak of a confusing situation – the background to this situation is also a large-scale disruption of mobile communications and the Internet in the Gaza Strip.
Several humanitarian organizations reported that they had lost contact with their staff. The situation in the combat zone is also extremely dangerous for journalists who risk their lives to report from there. The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said more than 29 media workers have been killed since the Hamas terrorist attack three weeks ago. The organization also warned that a failure in the communications network could also prevent new messages from spreading from there.
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