Israel: Hamas has "lost control in Gaza"
According to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas has "lost control" in the Gaza Strip. The media report that the troops have suffered "major blows" and that several battalions are leaderless and no longer able to fight.
Five weeks after the start of the Gaza war, the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas has lost "control in Gaza", according to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Hamas fighters were fleeing to the south of the Palestinian territory and civilians were looting Hamas bases, Gallant said in a video broadcast by Israeli television stations.
Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned of a complete collapse of humanitarian supplies for the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip within two days due to a lack of fuel. The civilian population "no longer has confidence in the government" of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said Gallant. He did not provide any evidence for his statements.
Citing army representatives, Israeli media reported that the Hamas troops, which were divided into 24 battalions before the war began, had suffered "major blows" over the past five weeks, and that several battalions were leaderless and no longer fully capable of fighting following the death of their commanders.
"Everything will stop in the next 48 hours, there is nothing we can do," said the UNRWA chief in the Gaza Strip, Thomas White. In the morning, two subcontractors for the drinking water supply had already had to stop their work due to a lack of fuel, leaving 200,000 people without drinking water. A doctor working for the aid organization Doctors Without Borders reported "inhumane" conditions in Al-Shaifa Hospital in Gaza, the largest clinic in the Palestinian territory.
"The situation is very bad, it's inhumane," the surgeon wrote in online media. "We have no electricity. There is no water and no food in the hospital," said the unnamed doctor. In addition to around 600 patients, thousands of people have sought refuge from the fighting in the hospital. Witnesses reported fierce fighting around the huge hospital complex, with Israeli tanks only a few meters away from the access road.
"Sick people on the street without treatment"
Israel accuses Hamas of having set up its military headquarters hidden beneath the hospital, which the Islamist organization rejects. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the Al-Kuds hospital also had to stop working because there was no more fuel for the generators. A representative of the Hamas authorities also stated that the "forced evacuation of the Al-Nasr and Al-Rantissi children's hospitals" had led to "the sick being on the street without treatment".
Meanwhile, the Israeli army declared that its soldiers would "continue raiding and targeting terrorist infrastructure housed in government buildings and among the civilian population", including "schools, universities, mosques". In the Abu Bakr mosque, soldiers had found "a large quantity of explosives" as well as weapons, military equipment and Hamas operational plans.
During the five-week Israel war, the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that Hamas had "lost control in Gaza." As a result, Hamas fighters were reportedly fleeing and civilians were looting Hamas bases in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a doctor working for Doctors Without Borders described "inhumane" conditions in Al-Shaifa Hospital in Gaza, including a lack of electricity, water, and food, forcing around 600 patients and thousands of refugees to seek shelter in the hospital.
Source: www.ntv.de
