While the truce came to an end, there are still many hostages kidnapped by the terrorist group.
Gaza – Dozens of Israeli tanks entered the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, where the army expanded its ground offensive against Hamas despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians and rising tensions in the region.
Israeli forces, which began a ground offensive on October 27 in the north of the Palestinian enclave, have multiplied bombings in the south since fighting resumed on December 1 after a seven-day truce.
The Israeli army said it was acting “strongly” around the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, which was under heavy shelling.
Dozens of Israeli tanks, personnel carriers and bulldozers entered this area, near the city of Khan Younis.
Under a truce brokered by Qatar, with support from Egypt and the United States, 80 Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
More than two dozen additional hostages were also released from Gaza, mostly Thais working in Israel.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization will hold an extraordinary session of its Executive Council on December 10 to discuss health conditions in Gaza and the West Bank, while the Palestinian envoy will seek more medical help and access for foreign health workers.
The WHO confirmed yesterday that it had received a request from 15 countries to hold the session, which will be convened by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in consultation with the president of Qatar.
A senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel would facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians as fighting in the area resumes.
Agencies AFP and Reuters
Source: Ambito
