Israel wants to expand ground offensive
A large part of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed and more than 80 percent of the Palestinian population is on the run. Now the Israeli military has reported the capture of the city of Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip - and is probably planning a further expansion of the ground offensive.
Israel Defense Minister Joav Galant reportedly wants to expand the Israeli ground offensive to other areas in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli media, Galant did not say exactly where he was referring to. The Times of Israel speculated that he could be referring to the center of the Gaza Strip or the city of Rafah in the south of the coastal area, where the border crossing to Egypt is located. Chan Junis in the south of the Gaza Strip has become the "new capital of terror", Galant reportedly went on to say.
In addition, Israel's army said it had captured the previously fiercely contested Hamas stronghold of Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to a press release, Itzik Cohen, senior commander of the Israeli military, announced that his division had gained "operational control" of the town. Soldiers had "killed hundreds of terrorists" in battles in Jabalia. In addition, 500 terror suspects had surrendered there. Some of them were involved in the massacre in Israel on October 7. According to the army, it destroyed command centers and rocket production facilities in the area.
The refugee district in Jabalia is considered an important base for the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. The Hamas authority announced that at least 13 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli attacks on Jabalia. On Monday, it had reported 110 deaths from Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings there. The information provided by the Israeli military and the Hamas authority could not be independently verified.
"Humanitarian catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip
The USA is nevertheless pushing for a slowdown in the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The US government recently informed Israel that it expects a transition from the "high-intensity" ground offensive to "more targeted" military operations.
Aid organizations have been talking about a "humanitarian catastrophe" for weeks. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), almost 1.9 of the 2.2 million people in the Gaza Strip are refugees - more than 80 percent of the population. According to the health authority controlled by the Islamist Hamas, more than 19,600 people have been killed in the war so far.
The bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israel and the subsequent ground offensive was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, in which terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups murdered more than 1,200 people on October 7.
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Despite the capture of Jabalia by Israeli forces, the Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant has expressed intentions to expand the ground offensive into other areas in the Gaza Strip, potentially including the city of Rafah or the center of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which considers the refugee district in Jabalia as an important base, reported the death of at least 13 Palestinians in the Israeli attacks on Jabalia.
Source: www.ntv.de
