Israel expands ground offensive throughout Gaza Strip
The Israeli army stated that a large number of rockets from the Gaza Strip had been intercepted. Two of its soldiers were killed in the shelling.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa and the Hamas-led government, an entrance to the Kamal Adwan hospital in the north of the city of Gaza was hit during the night, killing several people. The Israeli army did not initially respond to an AFP inquiry as to whether the hospital had been deliberately targeted. Israel accuses Hamas of installing positions under hospitals and using civilians as shields.
While Israeli attacks had been concentrated on the north of the Palestinian territory for weeks, the south also came under heavy fire at the weekend, including the area around the town of Chan Junis. The army called on the civilian population to seek safe areas "if necessary".
The war between Israel and Hamas has now been going on for more than eight weeks. On 7 October, hundreds of fighters from Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, invaded Israel and committed atrocities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli reports, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 240 people were taken hostage.
In response, Israel began a massive attack on targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip. According to the latest information from Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, more than 15,500 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then, including more than 6,000 children and young people.
A seven-day ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the USA had led to the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. The ceasefire was also used to bring aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli information, 137 hostages are still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The British Ministry of Defense declared that it would help in the search for the remaining hostages with surveillance flights over the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military declared on Sunday that it had flown around 10,000 airstrikes since the beginning of the war.
The spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip, Ashraf al-Kudra, said that 316 dead and 664 injured had been recovered from rubble "in the last few hours". "Many others are still trapped under the rubble."
Meanwhile, Israel's ally the US, which supports the country with billions of dollars in military aid every year, has reiterated its call for the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip. "Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed," said Vice President Kamala Harris on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai.
Several incidents in the region have stoked fears of the conflict spreading. In the Red Sea, the Houthi militia, which is allied with Iran, attacked several cargo ships and a US warship. According to security sources, five pro-Iranian fighters were killed in Iraq.
Fighting also flared up on Israel's border with Lebanon. The Israeli army said it had fired artillery in response to shelling from the other side of the border. Fighter planes had attacked several targets of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
Read also:
- The ground offensive by Israel throughout the Gaza Strip escalated over the weekend, leading to heavy fire in the southern areas, including Chan Junis.
- Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, confirmed that the army had carried out around 10,000 airstrikes since the beginning of the conflict.
- The USA, along with Qatar and Egypt, brokered a seven-day ceasefire, which resulted in the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
- The war between Israel and Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by both the USA and the EU, has been ongoing for over eight weeks, with thousands of deaths reported, including over 6,000 children and young people in the Gaza Strip.
- From Gaza, bombardments continued, with reports of infrastructure, hospitals, and civilians being affected, sparking international concern and calls for protection of civilians, particularly from the USA and other allies.
- Following the ceasefire, the Israeli military claimed that 137 hostages were still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, prompting the British Ministry of Defense to offer assistance with surveillance flights.
- The escalation of the conflict has also had spillover effects in the region, with incidents reported in the Red Sea and Israel's border with Lebanon, further exacerbating tensions and raising concerns about the potential for the conflict to expand.
Source: www.stern.de
