Israeli army surrounds Khan Yunis - heavy fighting with Hamas fighters
The Israeli counterattacks triggered by the major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 had been concentrated on the north of the Gaza Strip for weeks. However, the south had also come under heavy fire at the weekend. "We have secured many Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip and are now taking action against their strongholds in the south," said Chief of General Staff Halevi late on Tuesday evening.
AFP journalists reported that the streets of Khan Yunis were almost deserted on Wednesday as Israeli tanks, military trucks and bulldozers advanced into the town. Residents tried to flee to safety from the Israeli shelling and fighting. Many of them fled on foot, on motorcycles, carts or in overloaded cars towards the southern border town of Rafah.
Resident Hassan Al-Kadi, who was displaced from Chan Junis because of the war and sought refuge in Rafah, lamented the "constant bombing" by the Israeli army and the destruction in the city. "Many people who come from the northern Gaza Strip are in a terrible situation. Many are homeless and some are looking for their missing children."
The population in the Gaza Strip is living "in total horror", explained UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk. The civilian population in the Palestinian territory continues to be "relentlessly bombed and collectively punished by Israel". People are being deprived of food, water, medicine and other essential goods.
The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it had attacked around 250 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. The units continued to track down "weapons, underground shafts, explosives and other military infrastructure".
According to the army, several Hamas commanders were killed in an airstrike near an Indonesian-run hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. In the meantime, "most of the high-ranking commanders" of Hamas' armed wing, which operated from a network of tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, have been killed, the military announced on the online service Telegram.
Sources in Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group told AFP that their fighters were engaged in battles with Israeli soldiers to prevent them from entering Khan Yunis and surrounding areas. According to the Hamas government, dozens of people were killed or injured in artillery attacks on areas east of Khan Yunis on Wednesday night.
According to the Hamas-led Ministry of Health, six people were killed and 14 others injured in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip. Several people were also killed in an army attack on the Jabaliya refugee camp.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), Rafah is now the only place in the coastal area where a limited amount of humanitarian aid is still being distributed. "No place in Gaza is safe. Not the hospitals, not the shelters, not the refugee camps," said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths. "This blatant disregard for the fundamentals of humanity must stop."
According to the latest information from Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, more than 16,200 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war, most of them civilians.
The Israeli army's attacks on targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip are a reaction to the major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. At that time, hundreds of fighters from the Palestinian organization, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, entered 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. During a week-long ceasefire, 105 hostages were released at the end of November.
According to Israeli information, 138 abductees are still being held by Hamas. They are being held captive under "brutal and inhumane conditions", said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. The military had not lost sight of its "mission to rescue our hostages". He also called on the international community to take action. "The Red Cross must be given access to the hostages who are in the hands of Hamas."
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- Despite the heavy Israeli attacks on the north of the Gaza Strip, many Hamas fighters chose to engage in battles in the heavily fortified southern areas, such as Khan Yunis.
- The Israeli Military reported that they had launched numerous attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, destroying major weapon caches, underground tunnels, and military infrastructure.
- The weekend saw an escalation in the violence, with Israeli tanks and military vehicles entering Khan Yunis, leading to intense fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters.
- UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk denounced the Israeli military's actions, stating that the civilian population in Gaza had been subjected to constant bombing and collective punishment.
- Hassan Al-Kadi, a displaced resident from Chan Junis, recalled the heavy barrage of shelling and fighting that had left the city in ruins and displaced many families.
- AFP journalists reported that the Israeli Army had surrounded Khan Yunis, and nearby areas, constraining the movement of Hamas fighters and civilians alike.
- Volker Türk also noted that Gaza's infrastructure had been severely damaged during the ongoing conflict, with hospitals, schools, and residential areas becoming targets for Israeli airstrikes.
- The heavily fortified urban environments, such as Khan Yunis, made it challenging for the Israeli Military to neutralize Hamas fighters, leading to intense street-to-street battles.
- Soldiers maneuvered their armored vehicles and tanks through gutters and narrow alleys, launching precision strikes against Hamas strongholds and command centers.
- With the entire Gaza Strip under ongoing Israeli military pressure, there was no let-up in the fighting, as both sides sought to gain a critical advantage in the increasingly brutal battle for control of the region.
Source: www.stern.de
