Israeli commanders recently highlighted that several Hamas fighters fled south in the face of advancing troops in northern Gaza, the “Wall Street Journal” (“WSJ”) reported. According to the information, the Israeli military believes that some important Hamas leaders have hidden in densely populated areas and tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israel may be facing “the most difficult phase of the six-week war,” the WSJ said, referring to suspected Hamas members there, Hamas hostages and the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Gaza.
Graphics: APA/ORF; Source: CNN/ISW/Warmapper
Doctors: Dozens killed in attack on Khan Yunis
According to official Israeli information, there are only targeted attacks against Hamas leaders in areas designated for civilian use in the south. But deadly airstrikes also occur repeatedly in the south – most recently in the city of Chan Yunis. As the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders announced on Monday, at least 70 deaths were recorded in a local hospital following an Israeli airstrike.
debate
Middle East: How to break the spiral of violence?
Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant announced on Saturday that attacks in the Gaza Strip would soon be expanded south. The military has been calling on northern residents for more than a month to flee to a southern area west of Khan Yunis on the Mediterranean. More recently, residents of Khan Yunis were also forced to flee for the first time.
New evacuation call in the north
An expansion of the Israeli military operation has recently become evident in northern Gaza, where ground troops have been deployed for weeks. On Monday, the Israeli army again appealed to civilians in several neighborhoods of Gaza City to flee. For their own safety, residents must flee to “the humanitarian zone” in the south of the coastal strip by 4pm local time (3pm CET), an army spokesman announced in the morning. He also mentioned the Jabalja refugee camp.
According to the Guardian, this is still seen by Israel as a priority area where troops “target terrorists and attack Hamas infrastructure.”
Hamas: Indonesian hospital under siege
As with Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, Israel also suspects other public buildings and healthcare facilities of being Hamas bases.
Israel recently accused Israel of an attack on the Indonesian hospital near Jabalja, in which around 700 people, including many patients, were still believed to have been. “The Israeli army is besieging the Indonesian hospital and we fear that the same thing that happened at Al-Shifa hospital will happen there,” said the spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Authority.
more on the subject
New evidence of Hamas headquarters in hospital
With more images and video recordings, the Israeli army tried to prove on Sunday that Hamas had set up a large command center in and below Al-Shifa Hospital – and that the operation at the hospital was therefore justified. Images were shown of a 55-meter-long tunnel under the hospital – and video footage was shown that allegedly showed that Hamas brought hostages into the building on the day of the attack on Israel.
First field hospital arrived according to Hamas
For the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, a field hospital provided by Jordan has arrived in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. According to information, 40 trucks loaded with equipment and 17 nurses crossed the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Palestinian territory on Monday, coming from Egypt.
According to the UN Office of Emergency Relief (OCHA), pumps for drinking water supply and wastewater disposal have restarted in the southern Gaza Strip. The fuel delivered on Sunday was only enough for 24 hours of operation, OCHA said on Monday. The systems were turned off a week ago because there was no more fuel for their use.
According to OCHA, there is currently no aid in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The security situation does not allow for the distribution of material in Gaza City and the north, OCHA said, citing estimates that hundreds of thousands of people are still in northern Gaza.