AGI – Israel is preparing the total ground offensive against Gaza and ranks 300,000 reservists in the south of the country after Israeli forces attacked hundreds of “targets” in Gaza overnight. Eighty locations were hit in the Beit Hanon neighborhood, a city at the northeastern end of the Gaza Strip, over 450 in the Al-Furqan neighborhood, another 70 in the al-Daraj neighborhood, in locations that the Israeli army said were used by Hamas to direct attacks against Israel.
According to the Israeli army, this was the case An air detection system was destroyed used by Hamas to monitor aircraft over the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military goal is to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities, said Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Conricus: The mission is to “ensure that at the end of this war, Hamas has no military capabilities at all” that they are threatening could kill Israeli civilians. Conricus himself added that around 300,000 reservists were stationed in the south of the country towards Gaza.
Gaza will soon be without electricity
The only power plant in Gaza and the only source of electricity in the region will run out of fuel in about three hours, says the head of the Gaza Energy Authority, Jalal Ismail, quoted by the BBC. According to Ismail, the power plant will stop operating completely today at 2 p.m. local time, or 1 p.m. in Italy. The Palestinian Authority had previously spoken of shutting down the facility within 10 to 12 hours.
© AFP
Hamas rockets are intercepted by Iron Dome
According to the United Nations, over 260,000 people have had to leave their homes in the Gaza Strip so far heavy Israeli bombing They continue to attack the Palestinian enclave from the air, land and sea. “More than 263,934 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes,” the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said overnight, warning that “this number is expected to continue to rise.”
The death toll is still rising
In the meantime The Israeli death toll is rising, which has risen to 1,200: They were “mostly civilians,” said the army spokesman, while the number of soldiers killed would be 140. The number of wounded is 3,000. The increase in the death toll “is not due to the fact that the fighting is ongoing,” but rather because “now that time has passed, we are discovering bodies of dead Israelis in the various communities that Hamas has invaded.” and in which it carried out its massacres. Conricus explained. In particular, Israeli media reports that the bodies of 40 children killedsome of whom were beheaded.
The latest Palestinian budget presented by Gaza’s health authorities speaks of this 950 casualties in the enclaveand from Saturday. Among the dead are 260 children and 230 women. The United Nations deplored the total siege of the Gaza Strip as “prohibited under international law.” The Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas they would be between 100 and 150, according to the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. Qatar said it was too early to broker a prisoner exchange
Israeli Defense Minister Yoavv Gallant has indicated that the ground offensive in Gaza is imminent. “Hamas wanted change and they will get it. What was in Gaza will no longer be there. We started the offensive from the air, then we will also arrive from the ground,” he added while talking to the soldiers.
Rockets from Lebanon, Hezbollah claims
Israel bombed southern Lebanon for the fourth day in a row this morning after a new rocket launch on its territory, Lebanese news agency Ani reports. The Israeli military said it bombed Lebanese territory “in response to anti-tank missile fire on Israeli soldiers.”
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing rockets against Israel from southern Lebanon, stressing that it was in retaliation for the killing of three of its militiamen in recent days. The pro-Iranian Lebanese group reported that it had “attacked an Israeli position with guided missiles” outside the border village of Dhayra “in response to Monday’s Zionist attacks” that killed three members of the Shiite group.
© MAJDI FATHI / NURPHOTO / NURPHOTO VIA AFP
Gaza port hit
Dialogue on the Humanitarian Corridor
Meanwhile, the United States is discussing the idea of a humanitarian corridor to drive civilians out of Gaza, said US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. “We are focused on this issue, consultations are ongoing,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House. “But the details are being discussed between the operating authorities and I don’t want to reveal too much of it publicly at this time,” Sullivan said. The President of the United States
Joe Biden The Israeli prime minister reportedly urged Benjamin Netanyahu According to NBC, civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip should be minimized. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken travels to Israel and Jordan and cHe will reaffirm Washington’s firm support for Israel’s security in Tel Aviv. This is announced by the Foreign Ministry.
The Pope’s Appeal
“I continue to follow with pain and concern what is happening in Israel and Palestine. Many people were killed and even injured. I pray for the families who watched a day of celebration turn into a day of mourning. And I ask that…” Hostages must be released immediately. It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but I am very concerned about the total blockade under which Palestinians live in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims. Terrorism and extremism do not help to find a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but they fuel hatred, violence and revenge and only make one and the other suffer. The Middle East does not need war, but peace. A peace built on justice, dialogue and the courage of fraternity.” This is Pope Francis’ appeal at the end of the general audience.
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