Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza’s main telecom provider announced another “complete interruption” of services in the besieged territory.
Quick Read
- Expansion of Israeli Offensive: Israeli forces expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza following bombardments.
- Telecom Service Interruption: Gaza’s main telecom provider announced a complete interruption of services in the territory.
- Casualty Reports: More than 20,900 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, have been killed since the war’s start. The Health Ministry in Gaza does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in their count.
- U.S.-Israel High-Level Meetings: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, to discuss the war in Gaza and efforts to free hostages held by Hamas.
- Netanyahu’s Stance: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the military was intensifying the fighting and targeting Hamas terrorists.
- UN Human Rights Office Concerns: The UN human rights office expressed concern about the bombardment in middle Gaza, which has resulted in over 100 Palestinian deaths since Christmas Eve.
- Israel’s Visa Policy for UN Employees: Israel announced it would no longer grant automatic visas to U.N. employees, deciding on a case-by-case basis, potentially impacting aid efforts in Gaza.
- Evacuation Orders and Displacement: The Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate areas in central Gaza, leading to the displacement of tens of thousands.
- Regional Spillover: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant mentioned a “multi-arena war” involving Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran.
- International Attacks and Responses: Iranian-backed militias in Iraq carried out a drone strike on a U.S. base, leading to U.S. retaliatory strikes. Hezbollah and Israel exchanged missiles across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
- Mass Grave in Gaza: At the Kerem Shalom border crossing, unidentified bodies held by Israeli forces were buried in a mass grave, raising concerns about potential war crimes investigations.
- Hamas Resilience and Israeli Military Losses: Despite the intensive Israeli military campaign, Hamas has shown resilience. The Israeli military reported additional soldier fatalities, with the total reaching 161 since the ground offensive began.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli Military: Gaza ground offensive has expanded into urban refugee camps
Newslooks- RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP)
Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza’s main telecom provider announced another “complete interruption” of services in the besieged territory.
The military’s announcement of the new battle zone threatens further destruction in a war that Israel says will last for “many months” as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its Oct. 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge.
The U.S. said Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Despite U.S. calls for Israel to curb civilian casualties and international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was deepening the fighting.
“We say to the Hamas terrorists: We see you and we will get to you,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s offensive is one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than 20,900 Palestinians, two-thirds women and children, have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, whose count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. The agency said 240 people were killed over the past 24 hours.
The U.N. human rights office said the continued bombardment of middle Gaza had claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve. The office noted that Israel had ordered some residents to move there.
Israel said it would no longer grant automatic visas to U.N. employees and accused the world body of being “complicit partners” in Hamas’ tactics. Government spokesman Eylon Levy said Israel would consider visa requests case by case. That could further limit aid efforts in Gaza.
Residents of central Gaza described shelling and airstrikes shaking the Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij camps. The built-up towns hold Palestinians driven from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war, along with their descendants.
“The bombing was very intense,” Radwan Abu Sheitta said by phone from Bureij.
The Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate a belt of territory the width of central Gaza, urging them to move to nearby Deir al-Balah. The U.N. humanitarian office said the area ordered evacuated was home to nearly 90,000 people before the war and now shelters more than 61,000 displaced people, mostly from the north.
The military later said it was operating in Bureij and asserted that it had located a Hamas training camp.
The telecom outage announced by Paltel follows similar outages through much of the war. NetBlocks, a group that tracks internet outages, confirmed that network connectivity in Gaza was disrupted again and “likely to leave most residents offline.”
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said several countries had sent proposals to resolve the conflict following news of an Egyptian proposal that would include a transitional Palestinian government in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He did not offer details of the proposals.
REGIONAL SPILLOVER
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel faces a “multi-arena war” on seven fronts — Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran. “We have responded and acted already on six of these,” he told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Iranian-backed militia groups around the region have stepped up attacks in support of Hamas.
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq carried out a drone strike on a U.S. base in Irbil on Monday, wounding three American service members, according to U.S. officials. In response, U.S. warplanes hit three locations in Iraq connected to a main militia, Kataib Hezbollah.
Almost daily, Hezbollah and Israel exchange missiles, airstrikes and shelling across the Israeli-Lebanese border. On Tuesday, Israel’s military said Hezbollah struck a Greek Orthodox church in northern Israel with a missile, wounding two Israeli Christians, and fired again on arriving soldiers, wounding nine.
“Hezbollah is risking the stability of the region for the sake of Hamas,” said Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
In the Red Sea, attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen against commercial ships have disrupted trade and prompted a U.S.-led multinational naval operation to protect shipping routes. The Israeli military said a fighter jet on Tuesday shot down a “hostile aerial target” above the Red Sea that the military asserted was on its way to Israeli territory.
A MASS GRAVE
More than 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes. U.N. officials say a quarter of the territory’s population is starving under Israel’s siege, which allows in a trickle of food, water, fuel, medicine and other supplies. Last week, the U.N. Security Council called for immediately speeding up aid deliveries, but there has been little sign of change.
In an area Israel had declared a safe zone, a strike hit a home in Mawasi, a rural area in the southern province of Khan Younis. One woman was killed and at least eight were wounded, according to a cameraman working for The Associated Press at the nearby hospital.
In response, Israel’s military said that it wouldn’t refrain from operating in safe zones, “if it identifies terrorist organization activity threatening the security of Israel.”
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 others hostage. Israel aims to free the more than 100 hostages who remain in captivity.
Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll in Gaza, citing militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel says it has killed thousands of militants, without presenting evidence.
At the Kerem Shalom border crossing, U.N. and Gazan medical workers unloaded a truck carrying about 80 unidentified bodies that had been held by Israeli forces in northern Gaza. They were buried in a mass grave.
Medical workers called the odors unbearable. “We cannot open this container in a neighborhood where people live,” Dr. Marwan al-Hams, health emergency committee director in Rafah, told the AP. He said the health and justice ministries would investigate the bodies for possible “war crimes.”
Hamas has shown resilience. The Israeli military announced the deaths of two more soldiers, bringing the total killed since the ground offensive began to 161.
