Hand-to-hand combat rages day and night across the Gaza Strip as the Israeli army tries to break through Hamas’ defenses and head toward what is likely to be the toughest bone of the invasion: the urban battle in the Gaza Strip’s capital. The troops, an Israeli military spokesman admits, are fighting with militiamen who sometimes emerge from underground hideouts and carry out surprise counterattacks using guerrilla warfare techniques and constant ambushes. A total of 17 Israeli soldiers lost their lives in the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian health authorities, 9,061 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in bombings since the war began on October 7. That day, Hamas killed 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapped 240 and held them hostage on Israeli territory.
The heaviest fighting is taking place in the north of the Palestinian enclave. Meanwhile, in the south, citizens with dual passports are leaving through the Rafah border crossing, which leads into Egyptian territory and was opened to people for the first time in this war on Wednesday. Only those on an official list can do this, while others distribute their documents in vain, the Portal agency notes. In any case, it is a movement of people that moves insidiously and insidiously in the midst of a population of 2.3 million people, which, in addition to the war, is rocked by a deep humanitarian crisis due to the blockade imposed by Israel.
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On the diplomatic front, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel this Friday for his third visit since the October 7 massacre. He will also travel to neighboring Jordan, which withdrew its ambassador from Israel in protest at the deaths of more than 9,000 people in response to the fundamentalist militia attack.
The physical proximity of the combatants confirms a new phase of the conflict in which, along with aviation and artillery, infantry also plays a fundamental role. After several temporary incursions, Israeli troops finally gained access to the Palestinian enclave last Friday afternoon. General Itzik Cohen said on Wednesday that troops had entered Palestinian territory and were at the gates of Gaza City.
“In the hours of last night, the armed forces faced many saboteurs who attempted to set up ambushes and after several hours of fighting many of them were eliminated. “We continue to destroy Hamas’ defense lines in the north of the Gaza Strip and take over central areas,” Avichay Adraee, Arab spokesman for the Israeli army, said on Thursday on the social network X (formerly Twitter). These clashes between the two sides took place “face to face,” he added, suggesting that the war had entered a phase of rapprochement.
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Resistance in the tunnels
The tunnel network has become a fundamental weapon in Hamas’ resistance against an army that far outclasses it in personnel, resources and technology. In war, however, the attacker always risks more than the defender. The Islamic resistance movement has shown videos showing its militants emerging from underground armed with grenade launchers and taking positions before attacking tanks and tanks of Israeli occupation forces. One of them records the scene amidst expressions of joy before returning to the tunnel. In another video, they show a drone dropping a small bomb on a group of soldiers in the Gaza Strip. This tactic is often used by Ukrainian troops to attack Russian invaders in the east or south of the country.
Israel carried out the worst attacks in the north of the Gaza Strip. There it has attacked the Jabalia refugee camp twice in the last three days, leaving behind dozens of victims and destroyed buildings. This is reportedly a new operation to destroy Hamas’ infrastructure.
Several dozen injured people were also evacuated via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday for treatment in the country. However, no progress has been made on the release of some of the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas. It is the government of Qatar that acts as a hinge between Hamas and Israel, in collaboration with Egypt and the United States.
Tensions also continue to rise in the West Bank, where four Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli occupation troops this Thursday. In the north, on the border between Lebanon and Israel, the army is said to have attacked a squadron that was trying to fire anti-tank missiles from Lebanese territory.
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