The Israeli army stepped up attacks on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as part of its operation against Hamas, which it said could continue for “many more months” despite serious humanitarian concerns.
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In a new sign of increasing regionalization of the conflict, the United States has intercepted drones and missiles in the Red Sea fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels, threatening Israeli interests in “support” in Gaza.
In this Palestinian territory, Israeli forces are “fighting in Khan Younes” (south) and “expanding” their operations in camps in the center, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday evening.
The army issued an evacuation order for residents of al-Bureij camp (center) and its surroundings. According to AFP, some had already fled to Rafah, where they arrived with their luggage on the roof of their cars.
More than 240 people were killed in the last 24 hours, the Hamas Ministry of Health said on Tuesday. According to an AFP journalist on the scene, bodies of Palestinians were transported in a truck to a mass grave in Rafah where they were buried.
“We received a container with a large number of martyrs. Some were complete bodies, others were human remains,” lamented Marwan al-Hams, head of the Rafah Health Emergency Committee.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reiterated that he was “deeply concerned by the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the central Gaza Strip” and called for a distinction between civilians and combatants.
“We see you”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier this week an “intensification” of attacks on Gaza, where telecommunications were still disrupted early Wednesday.
“We say to the Hamas terrorists: 'We see you, we are coming to you'” […] We will step up fighting in southern Gaza and elsewhere,” he said later during a visit to the Israel Space Agency.
Despite this “intensification” of fighting, the conflict in Gaza could last for months, army chief Herzi Halevi warned on Tuesday, emphasizing that “the goals of this war are not easy to achieve.”
After the Oct. 7 attack by commandos infiltrated from Gaza, which Israel said killed about 1,140 people, most of them civilians, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas. According to this source, around 250 people were kidnapped, 129 of whom are still detained in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, Israeli retaliation in the Gaza Strip left 20,915 dead and 54,918 injured.
According to the United Nations, 85% of Gaza's 2.4 million residents have been displaced by the war and the humanitarian situation in the territory remains critical with the threat of famine and the closure of most hospitals.
Auxiliary diplomacy
After adopting a Security Council resolution last week calling for a “large-scale” delivery of aid, the United Nations on Tuesday appointed outgoing Dutch minister Sigrid Kaag as humanitarian coordinator in Gaza.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it received 41 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and seven new ambulances through the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, still well below needs, according to the World Health Organization.
France said on Tuesday it was “deeply concerned” about the intensification and prolongation of fighting and “strongly” called for an “immediate ceasefire leading to a ceasefire.”
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, whose country conducted mediation that enabled a ceasefire in late November, spoke to American President Joe Biden overnight about the situation.
The two leaders discussed the efforts needed “to calm the situation and achieve a lasting ceasefire,” a statement from Qatari diplomacy said.
In Washington, the White House spoke of discussions about “freeing” hostages held by Hamas, including “American citizens,” and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer spoke with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan about the release of hostages, a “different phase” of the war aimed more at Hamas leaders and the deployment of aid for Gaza.
At the end of November, a week-long ceasefire allowed the release of 105 hostages against 240 Palestinian prisoners and the importation of a large amount of aid into Gaza.
But efforts by mediators, particularly those from Egypt and Qatar, have so far failed to bring about a new humanitarian pause.
From Damascus to Yemen
Fears of an expansion of the conflict are increasing, particularly through the actions of Iran-aligned groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthis in Yemen, with Tehran supporting Hamas.
An Israeli attack early Wednesday in the occupied West Bank in the Tulkarem sector left six dead and many injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
On the Israel-Lebanese border on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers were injured in a Hezbollah fire, while the Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a ship in the Red Sea and an intercepted rocket attack on Israel.
Al-Qahera News television said that “a flying object was shot down two kilometers off the coast of Dahab,” an Egyptian coastal city located 150 kilometers south of the border with Israel.
For its part, the American army, which patrols the Red Sea to protect maritime traffic from attacks by the Houthis, announced that on Tuesday it destroyed 12 drones and five missiles fired by these rebels.
Attacks on American troops by pro-Iranian groups have also increased in Iraq and Syria. In response, the United States attacked three sites in Iraq used by pro-Iranian groups, killing one.
These incidents came shortly after Tehran accused Israel of killing one of its senior officers, Razi Mousavi, in an attack in Syria and vowed to avenge his death.