MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP
In southern Israel, near the border with the Gaza Strip, smoke rises over the northern part of the Palestinian enclave, evidence of fighting between Israel and Hamas, December 10, 2023.
INTERNATIONAL – After two months of war, the fighting may get even worse. This Sunday, December 10, bombs continue to rain down on Gaza as the Israeli army and Hamas wage violent battles in the south of the Palestinian enclave. Little hope: At the same time, Qatar continues to affirm that negotiating efforts towards a ceasefire will “continue”. HuffPost takes stock of the situation.
• Fierce fighting in the south
On Saturday, General Halevi, head of the Israeli army, called for “increasing military pressure” against Hamas. Immediate result: Early Sunday morning, Israeli planes carried out “very heavy airstrikes” near Khan Younes and on the road between that town and Rafah, near the border with Egypt, the Hamas government said. Information confirmed by an AFP journalist on site.
A few hours later, a source close to the military branches of Hamas and Islamic Jihad told AFP that the two movements were engaged in “violent clashes” around Khan Younes in the south of the Gaza Strip. But it was precisely in this region that a large proportion of Gaza's 1.9 million residents fled on the recommendation of the Israeli army at the beginning of its ground offensive. Most are waiting at the Rafah border post, which has been converted into a huge refugee camp.
In addition, Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets at Israel, but the Jewish state's army claims that the vast majority of these rockets are intercepted by its anti-missile shield, the Iron Dome.
• Negotiations for a ceasefire
While the United States vetoed an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip at the UN Security Council this Saturday, mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire continue this Sunday, ten days after the end of the ceasefire that allowed for the release of Palestinian hostages prisoners made possible.
“Our efforts undertaken by the State of Qatar together with our partners continue. We will not give up,” the Qatari prime minister assured ten days after the end of the ceasefire that allowed the release of hostages against Palestinian prisoners. However, that official acknowledged that “continuing the bombing reduces the opportunities” for discussion.
For its part, the American government approved “urgently” and without congressional approval the sale of almost 14,000 120mm shells to Israel to equip the Merkava battle tanks involved in the offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
• Fears of an expansion of the conflict
As tensions rise in Gaza, the specter of an escalating conflict continues to loom. On Saturday night, a French frigate patrolling the Red Sea shot down two drones coming from northern Yemen. The attack comes at a time when Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have threatened to attack any ship in the Red Sea bound for Israel if the people of Gaza do not receive the help they need . Hamas welcomed a “courageous and courageous” decision by the rebels.
For its part, Iran, a key supporter of Hamas, warned this Saturday of the “possibility” of an “uncontrollable explosion” in the Middle East if the United States continued to support Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza. “As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime and the continuation of the war […] “There is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion of the situation in the region,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said during a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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