The Israeli army claims to have once again attacked hundreds of positions belonging to the Islamic group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. As the military said on Telegram on Sunday morning, warplanes bombed more than 450 targets in the last day, including command centers, observation posts and anti-tank missile launch pads. The army renewed its appeal to civilians in the Gaza Strip to flee south of the coastal area.
In cooperation with its own ground troops, Israeli combat units attacked terrorist cells that attempted to attack and fire anti-tank missiles, he said. An Israeli officer was seriously injured last night when he was hit by a mortar in the north of the Gaza Strip. Another Israeli soldier was also injured in a battle with terrorists in the north.
“Civilians in the north of the Gaza Strip and Gaza City should temporarily move to a safer area south of Wadi Gaza,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement recorded on Saturday and published on online service X on Sunday. There they could “receive water, food and medicine”.
On Sunday, “Egyptian and US-led humanitarian operations for the Gaza Strip will be expanded,” Hagari added. Another army spokesman confirmed to AFP that humanitarian efforts would be expanded on Sunday.
The Israeli army’s Home Front Command had also previously warned residents of the southern Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon about rocket attacks.
UN and EU officials called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to allow aid to be delivered to the people of the Gaza Strip. Among other things, they demanded the supply of water, food, fuel and electricity to the civilian population in need.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), thousands of people in the Gaza Strip have invaded warehouses and distribution centers and looted them in search of “basic means of survival.” “This is a worrying sign that public order is beginning to crumble after three weeks of war and a rigorous siege in the Gaza Strip,” the humanitarian agency said.
The Palestinian radical Islamic organization Hamas launched an unprecedented major attack against Israel on October 7th. According to Israeli information, around 1,400 people were killed and 230 people were taken hostage. Since then, Hamas has also fired thousands of rockets at Israel. In response to the attacks, Israel isolated the Gaza Strip and launched massive airstrikes. Israel also announced “a new phase” in the war against the radical Palestinian organization, including an expansion of ground operations.
Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 8,000 people since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, according to data released on Sunday. According to Hamas statements, which could not be independently verified by AFP, a “large number” of people were killed in attacks on two refugee camps in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday night.