Israel’s latest attack on Khan Yunis, the Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza, has begun. The army is intensifying its operations, the special units and commandos of the 98th Division are fighting street by street to hunt down “terrorists”. From Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Islamic faction believed to be primarily responsible for the October 7 attack, to the elusive Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the most important wing of the organization. The army surrounded Sinwar’s house, but there is no trace of him: Instead, he appears to have hidden somewhere in the tunnel network under Gaza. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined: “I have already said that our forces can reach everyone in the Gaza Strip. Now they surround Sinwar’s house. It’s not his fortress and he can escape. But it’s just a matter of time before we take him.
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ANSA Agency The Diary of the Day – December 6th Israel: “Another month of military pressure for a new ceasefire”. Rest in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip is divided into two
This was not the time for a new ceasefire, the US also reiterated, believing that a ceasefire now “would not only strengthen Hamas, but would in some way confirm the attacks of October 7th.” Israeli security sources agreed with the American statements, adding that it could take up to a month to exert sufficient military pressure on Hamas to open a new window for a ceasefire and the subsequent release of the 138 hostages still held in Gaza. According to the same sources, to achieve this goal, military operations must continue in both the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
Video Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hits Khan Yunis
The army – which counts 84 dead soldiers so far – continues to increase pressure to dismantle the military structure of Hamas and the other Palestinian armed factions across the Gaza Strip, although the road still appears to be long. This is highlighted by the new discovery of a weapons depot in the north, described by the army as one of Hamas’s “largest” and containing “hundreds of grenade launchers, dozens of anti-tank missiles and explosives, long-range rockets, grenades, etc. and many drones,” said the military spokesman. “All terrorist structures were found near civilian buildings in the heart of the population,” he stressed, again pointing to this fact as “further evidence that Hamas is using the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields.”
Video Gaza: Palestinians break into and loot a shop in Khan Yunis
And on the future fate of the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu reiterated that the Palestinian Authority will not control Gaza as long as he is prime minister. “Those who educate their children about terrorism, finance it and support their families will not be able to govern Gaza after the end of Hamas.”he thundered, responding to President Abu Mazen, who said he was ready to take back control of the Gaza Strip once the conflict in the Palestinian enclave is over.
Video Israel, one of Hamas’ largest weapons depots in the north of the Gaza Strip
And while Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel’s south, Hezbollah has carried out 11 attacks from Lebanese territory in the north, now representing a true second front in the conflict. The IDF responded with heavy fire across the border: an Israeli drone fired on a civilian house in Mays al Jabal, killing one person and wounding two others. And it targets a Hezbollah military command and infrastructure. The situation has now led to Israel wanting to “remove” Iran’s allies in Lebanon across the Litani River on the basis of UN Resolution 1701. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that if this did not happen, Israel would act “with all means at its disposal.” including military. In southern Israel, the threat has also returned from the Houthis, Tehran’s Yemeni allies, who claimed responsibility for launching a surface-to-surface missile toward Eilat that was intercepted by the Arrow system.
Video Gaza, UN: “Apocalyptic situation, increasing risk of atrocities”
Meanwhile, Israel has launched plans for 1,738 new homes in part of East JerusalemQatar continues to face pressure to persuade Hamas to allow the Red Cross to visit the hostages as fears about their conditions grow: more and more stories of the violence and sexual abuse they suffered are coming from those who returned to freedom.
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