FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
JERUSALEM – “At the gates of Gaza City” – as an Israeli general proclaims – the mechanized infantry arrived there aboard the Namers, they assembled the Merkava tank and an armored personnel carrier. The Givati Brigade soldiers – who know the terrain better and are part of the South Division – can get out of the vehicle for close combat and then get back in. The speed of the invasion is determined by the diesel engines, not the pace of the military. Perhaps it is because the vehicles have a new design, “that progress has been faster than expected.” In five days we will already be in total war on the field,” writes Amos Harel, analyst for the Haaretz newspaper. For this reason, 16 Israelis have already died, 11 of them were killed by an anti-tank missile that hit the very boat on which they were being transported. For this reason, Palestinian casualties are increasing – totaling at least 9,000, including many civilians – yesterday the rockets hit the Jabalia refugee camp for the second time, according to Palestinian sources “there would be dozens of deaths”.
To complete the encirclement of the capital where fundamentalist leaders are concentrated, Tsahal is entering the streets of one of the most populous areas of the 363 square kilometers that lie between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean. The tanks cannot continue along the sea from north to south, the coast rises, there is no beach, the soldiers have to go through Jabalia and from there towards the Shati refugee camp, where Ismail Hanyeh, head of Hamas abroad, is. And from outside, far from Gaza and the bombings, the chief is trying to dictate the pace of the conflict: “A ceasefire is necessary for the release of the hostages.” They suffer the same death and treatment as the Palestinians.” During the Invading on Oct. 7 – 1,400 Israelis were killed in villages and towns outside the Gaza Strip – the terrorists kidnapped over 240 people, released four elderly people in two phases and announced on Tuesday that they were ready to release “numerous foreigners” without Israel Passport to release, which excludes prisoners with dual nationality. On the 26th day of the war, the organization is still able to fire rockets that reach Tel Aviv.
Yoav Gallant, the defense minister on the southern front, explains that the soldiers are “working to discover the Hamas tunnels and drive them out,” the so-called “metro” that has been built over years under the sand. Herzi Halevi, the Chief of Staff, announces that the intensity of the operation is increasing and the new phase is being prepared. Armed Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari explains that the drones’ thermal sensors create a live map of human presence on the battlefield. He reiterates that the army has been encouraging the population to descend below Gaza City for weeks and that many areas in the north are now green. “Jabalia is all red – he says in a meeting with international media – that means there are a lot of people in the area.” Certainly Commander Ibrahim Biari and his men who we killed. It is likely that there are civilians too, we cannot know whether they will be forced to stay. I still don’t have an answer as to the death toll from Tuesday’s bombing, the collapse was profound because the terrorists’ tunnels were underneath.
The vice admiral, who commanded the Navy’s special forces, reiterated that “our main focus remains on Hamas and we are managing the other fronts.” Following missile launches by the Houthis in Yemen, a warship is stationed in the Red Sea, while exchanges of fire with the Lebanese Hezbollah continue in the north. From Beirut, Prime Minister Najib Mikati is calling for “a five-day ceasefire before the situation in the entire region spirals out of control.”