Israel expands ground offensive and interrogates hundreds of Hamas members

War in the Middle East - Israel expands ground offensive and interrogates hundreds of Hamas members

According to Israel's army, it expanded its ground operation in the Gaza Strip over the Christmas weekend, concentrating on the extensive network of tunnels run by the Islamist Hamas. The troops are involved in "complex battles in densely populated areas" and are tracking down "terrorist infrastructures", particularly in the underground tunnels, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Saturday evening. The destruction of the tunnels in the southern city of Chan Junis and other areas was time-consuming. The military had previously stated that they were now approaching complete control of the north of the coastal strip.

After days of wrangling, the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Friday calling for an increase in humanitarian aid to alleviate the terrible suffering of the civilian population. However, the watered-down compromise text does not call for an immediate ceasefire. As Israel's most important ally, the USA abstained from the vote. According to the White House, US President Joe Biden made it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone call on Saturday that civilians, including humanitarian aid workers, must be protected at all costs.

Israel's army focuses on Hamas tunnels

According to the United Nations, one in four Palestinians in Gaza is at risk of starvation. In recent talks with Israel's leadership, the US government has repeatedly insisted on more targeted military operations that should concentrate on the Hamas leadership. According to Israel, Hamas is hiding in the tunnels under the coastal area. In order to destroy these, the technical forces in the southern city of Chan Junis, for example, have been significantly increased, army spokesman Hagari said on Saturday evening. The capacities of the division fighting there would be further expanded in the coming days.

An entire network of tunnels stretches for many kilometers below the Gaza Strip, in which, according to Israel, a number of Hamas terrorists are hiding and holding hostages from Israel. In order to withstand Israel's bombs from the air, some tunnels reach dozens of meters underground. The terrorists also use the underground routes to emerge from nowhere and attack from behind. Many of the tunnels are booby-trapped to kill Israeli soldiers who enter them.

Since the beginning of the war, around 30,000 explosive devices, including anti-tank missiles and rockets in the possession of the Islamist Hamas, have been destroyed or confiscated, Hagari added. Israel's military had previously announced that it had killed a senior Hamas official who was responsible for its own weapons supply.

Meanwhile, in the north, Israel says it is in the process of taking control of the area. However, the "Wall Street Journal" quoted Israeli military analysts on Saturday (local time), according to which such control does not mean that the military has eliminated Hamas' presence. Rather, Israel is only limiting Hamas' ability to carry out attacks. Because of the tunnels, Israel cannot consolidate its control over Gaza. That is why the army is now concentrating more on the tunnels, it said.

More than 700 Hamas members arrested

So far, more than 700 members of terrorist organizations have been captured in the coastal strip during the ground operation, Israel's military announced on Saturday. Within one week alone, more than 200 had been arrested. They had been brought to Israel for interrogation. Some had surrendered. The information could not initially be independently verified.

The war was triggered by the worst attack in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1200 people were killed on the Israeli side as a result. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive at the end of October. According to the Hamas health authority in Gaza, more than 20,000 people have been killed in the area since then.

Meanwhile, the sirens sounded again on Sunday morning in northern Israel, as the army announced. Mutual attacks had previously taken place again on the border with Lebanon. Israeli soldiers had attacked a military compound and other targets of the Shiite militia Hezbollah in the neighboring country, the army announced on Saturday. Several rocket launches and attacks with mortar shells from Lebanon towards Israel were recorded. The Hezbollah militia is closely linked to Israel's arch-enemy Iran.

According to US intelligence, Iran is deeply involved in the planning of attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea. According to the US Department of Defense, Iran is also responsible for a drone attack on a merchant ship in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India. The Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker "MV Chem Pluto" was hit by an attack drone from Iran on Saturday, the Pentagon announced in Washington. A fire on board the tanker was extinguished. There were no fatalities or injuries in the incident, the statement from Saturday (local time) added.

What will be important on Sunday

Israel's army is stepping up the fighting against Hamas. The situation is becoming increasingly dramatic for civilians due to the lack of relief supplies. Meanwhile, Christmas is being celebrated quietly in the Holy Land because of the war. Access to the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank is extremely restricted by Israeli army roadblocks. However, midnight mass is to take place.