The war between Israel and Hamas, which entered its 30th day on Sunday, was sparked by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s bloody Oct. 7 attack on Israeli soil from its controlled Gaza Strip.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas and relentlessly shell the Gaza Strip, a besieged territory where 2.4 million Palestinians are crowded. Since October 27, the Israeli army has also been conducting ground operations deep in the territory.
Here are the latest developments:
“More than 2,500 terrorist targets”
The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had attacked “more than 2,500 terrorist targets” in the Gaza Strip in land, air and sea operations since the ground offensive began around ten days ago in the Palestinian territory.
On Thursday, Israel said it had struck 12,000 targets in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.
A bombed refugee camp
According to the Defense Ministry, at least 45 people, mostly children and women, were killed and around 100 others were injured in an Israeli bomb attack on the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, according to the Defense Ministry. Hamas health.
Blinken is expected in Ankara
After Israel and Jordan, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, is expected on Sunday in Ankara, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Saturday that he had broken off all contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to the military actions of Israel in the Gaza Strip. Turkey also announced the recall of its ambassador to Israel for consultations.
Progress towards a “humanitarian pause”
When asked about progress in securing a humanitarian pause, US President Joe Biden answered “yes” and gave a thumbs up.
Shortly before, in Amman, Washington reiterated Washington’s support for “humanitarian pauses” while rejecting the idea of a ceasefire.
Hamas suspends evacuations
Hamas has suspended a plan to evacuate foreigners and dual nationals to Egypt because Israel refuses to allow injured Palestinians to go to Egyptian hospitals, a Palestinian official in Gaza said on Saturday.
Since Wednesday, dozens of injured Palestinians, as well as several hundred dual citizens and foreigners, have been evacuated from Gaza.
Balance sheets
According to the latest Hamas report on Saturday, 9,488 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory attacks in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
According to Israeli authorities, at least 1,400 people died on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, killed on the same day of the Hamas attack.
According to the army, at least 345 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7.