Israel increases pressure on Hamas in Gaza Strip - UN votes on ceasefire resolution

Israel increases pressure on Hamas in Gaza Strip - UN votes on ceasefire resolution

According to Gallant, the last Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip are about to fall. "Hamas is on the verge of disintegration - the IDF is taking its last strongholds," Gallant said late on Monday evening, referring to the Israeli army.

At the same time, Israel's Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi made similar comments during a visit to the Hamas stronghold of Chan Junis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, where Israel suspects Hamas leaders and the hostages it has abducted are located. The Israeli army is "intensifying" its operations in the south and at the same time expanding its presence in the north, "even deep underground", said Halevi.

The fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas has increasingly shifted from the northern to the southern Gaza Strip. According to Israeli reports, 500 Hamas fighters have been arrested over the past month, and dozens more have surrendered. In addition, according to National Security Advisor Tsachi Hanegbi, around 7,000 "terrorists" have been killed so far. Hamas denies the claims.

According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army launched an attack on the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the city of Gaza on Tuesday. Most recently, the Israeli army said it had discovered several Hamas weapons caches near civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals and a university. Israel accuses Hamas of having set up its military infrastructure there and thus abusing civilians as "human shields". Hamas rejects the accusations.

According to Hamas, there was fierce fighting on Tuesday: Hamas stated that there had been clashes with the Israeli army in the center of the Gaza Strip. Witnesses also reported heavy Israeli attacks in the south of the Palestinian territory. According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, at least twelve people were killed in Israeli air strikes in the southern city of Rafah near the border with neighboring Egypt.

At the instigation of Egypt and Mauritania, the UN General Assembly will meet on Tuesday for a special session on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. According to diplomatic sources, it could vote on a non-binding draft resolution on a ceasefire at its special session. A draft text obtained by the AFP news agency calls for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages". It also expresses "grave concern" about the "catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip".

Last Friday, a resolution on a ceasefire was vetoed by the USA at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

The UN assumes that 1.9 million of the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have had to flee their homes because of the war. The southern region of Rafah along the border with Egypt has therefore become a huge refugee camp.

In order to enable more aid deliveries, the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip is now to be used to check the trucks. However, the trucks would have to pass through the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip after being checked there, the Israeli army explained. Rafah is currently the only crossing through which relief supplies can enter the Palestinian territory.

Previously, the Israeli-Egyptian border crossing at Nitzana had already been used to check aid supplies. By using both checkpoints for controls, the amount of aid delivered to the Gaza Strip could be "doubled", explained the Israeli army in the short message service X, formerly Twitter. Trucks carrying "water, food, medical supplies and equipment for shelters" are to be checked.

The war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas was triggered on October 7 by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel. Hundreds of fighters from the Palestinian organization, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, entered Israel from the Gaza Strip and committed atrocities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli reports, around 1200 people were killed and around 240 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. There are still 137 hostages held by Hamas, including women and children.

In response to the attack, Israel began massive air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip and the army also launched a ground offensive at the end of October. According to Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, almost 18,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then, most of them women and children.

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1. Joav Gallant, a military analyst, predicted that the remaining Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip would likely be overtaken soon.
2. The Israeli army's Chief of General Staff, Herzi Halevi, visited the Hamas stronghold of Chan Junis, noting an intensification of operations in the south and expansion in the north.
3. With increased pressure from Israel, over 500 Hamas fighters were arrested and dozens more surrendered during the past month.
4. Hamas leaders and hostages suspected to be held by the group were believed to be located within these strongholds.
5. The General Assembly of the United Nations will convene for a special meeting on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, at the request of Egypt and Mauritania.
6. A vote on a non-binding draft resolution for a ceasefire may occur during the special session, urging an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and hostage releases.
7. Previously, a resolution for a ceasefire was vetoed by the USA during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
8. Over 1.9 million of the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been displaced due to the conflict, with the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt serving as a makeshift refugee camp.
9. The Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza is now utilized to inspect incoming aid truckloads, which must then pass through Rafah for entry into the Palestinian territory.
10. By utilizing two checkpoints for inspections, the amount of aid available to the Gaza Strip could theoretically be doubled, according to Israeli armed forces statements.
11. The Israeli army's main focus includes preventing the Hamas militants from obtaining supplies at the reliefs, namely water, food, medical supplies, and shelter equipment.
12. The conflict ignited on October 7 due to an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel, resulting in hundreds of fatalities and hundreds of hostages within the Gaza Strip.

Source: www.stern.de