It is already morning in Gaza. This is what you should know about war
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation this Saturday, while the Israeli army claimed to have expanded its ground operation against Hamas in the south and north of the Gaza Strip.
At least 18 people were killed in the enclave this Saturday in new Israeli attacks in the center of the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials.
This is the latest:
Expansion of ground operations: Israeli troops have expanded their ground operations in the south and north of the Gaza Strip and engaged in heavy fighting over the weekend, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said this week at a news conference on Saturday. Hagari stated that ground forces destroyed and confiscated Hamas weapons and underground infrastructure. The director of affairs for the main UN agency in Gaza criticized the IDF's call for new evacuations in the enclave, saying that tens of thousands of residents in the central and southern Gaza Strip – many of whom have already been displaced – have “nowhere to go.”
American and Israeli leaders discuss 'escalation' of war: According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu discussed the “goals and phases” of the war between Israel and Hamas during their phone call. Biden told reporters on Saturday that he had a lengthy conversation with Netanyahu and was not pushing for a ceasefire. Netanyahu said he expressed gratitude for the U.S. position on the United Nations Security Council.
Israel claims it killed a Hamas official: The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli security service Shin Bet claim to have killed Hamas official Hassan Atrash in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. According to a post on the IDF's X, formerly Twitter, Atrash was responsible for arms trafficking, manufacturing and supplying weapons to Hamas.
Help Gaza: Following a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian pause between Israel and Hamas and an increase in aid to Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent said 93 aid trucks entered the besieged enclave on Saturday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday that measuring the success of the Gaza aid operation by the number of trucks entering the enclave was a mistake because of the “enormous obstacles” posed by the UN ground offensive. Israel is supposed to distribute the aid once it reaches Gaza.
Criticism of the UN resolution: The Security Council's call for a pause will be “almost insignificant” to the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement criticizing the compromise resolution. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister criticized Guterres for calling for a ceasefire, saying in an interview with CNN on Saturday that Guterres was “offering a lifeline to Hamas.”