Israel leaves no doubt that a ground offensive against the Islamist Hamas in Gaza is imminent. The situation there is becoming more catastrophic for civilians by the hour. The News.
Despite calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, Israel is sticking to its plans for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip against the Islamist Hamas. “We are preparing for a ground attack. I will not say when, how and how many,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech that evening.
“All Hamas members are doomed – above ground, underground, in Gaza and outside Gaza.” Meanwhile, France’s leadership promised medical help to people suffering from thirst and hunger in the densely populated coastal strip.
France and China announce aid
French planes carrying medical supplies are set to land in Egypt from today, President Emmanuel Macron announced after a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. The United Nations refugee agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA, had previously warned of an imminent end to all humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said hospitals in the coastal area had already had to close due to a lack of fuel. Israel continues to block the delivery of fuel to the area because it could strengthen Hamas and there are fears of misuse for terrorist purposes. The Islamist organization itself has large reserves of fuel, but withholds it from its own people.
The Chinese government also announced further humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip. China is concerned about the high number of civilian casualties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the extreme deterioration of the humanitarian situation, Chinese state media quoted a spokesman for the Chinese International Development Cooperation Authority as saying.
China will provide the Gaza Strip with an additional 15 million yuan (around 1.9 million euros) in the form of food, medicine and other goods. Beijing had already launched aid for the people of Gaza.
Israeli army: Limited tank advance in the Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, the war between Hamas and Israel continues relentlessly. The Israeli Air Force said it once again bombed numerous targets in the Gaza Strip. As the Israeli military announced on Telegram, warplanes had attacked more than 250 “terror targets” over the past day.
These included command centers, tunnel shafts and rocket launch pads in the middle of residential areas from which shots have been fired into Israeli territory since the beginning of the war. Soldiers also hit a base for Hamas surface-to-air missile launchers in the Khan Younis area in the south of the Gaza Strip, it said.
The Israeli military also made another limited tank advance in the north of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas. The army said that “numerous terrorists, terrorist infrastructure and launch pads for anti-tank missiles” were tracked down and attacked during the night.
After the advance was over, the soldiers left the area again. It was part of the preparations “for the next phases of the fight,” it said.
According to their own statements, members of Hamas had previously fired two long-range rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Haifa in the north and Eilat in the south of Israel. According to the media, one projectile exploded in the air and the other fell on open ground to the south. There were initially no reports of injuries or damage.
Netanyahu: Israel is fighting for its existence
Israel is in the middle of a “battle for its existence,” said Netanyahu. Thousands of terrorists have already been killed since the Islamist Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7th and this is “just the beginning.”
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening that the Israeli Air Force was continuing to attack targets in the Gaza Strip in preparation for a ground offensive. “Underground terrorist infrastructure” was also hit. “Every strike improves our situation for the next phases,” Hagari said. An extensive tunnel system runs under the densely populated coastal strip, in which hostages are believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas during its major attack on Israel.
Israeli Minister: Commission will investigate October 7th
An Israeli minister also announced the formation of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 Hamas terror attack. After the war, this should “clarify the question of guilt” on the Israeli side, said Culture Minister Miki Zohar on the website ynet. The commission will be “independent”. “The entire Israeli population will be able to rely on them.”
There is massive criticism in Israel of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not yet taken direct responsibility for the political and military failure on October 7th. In contrast, leading representatives of the military and secret service also acknowledged their responsibility.
Israel’s army: Hamas prevents people from fleeing to southern Gaza
According to Israel, the Islamist Hamas continues to prevent civilians in the Gaza Strip from fleeing the particularly insecure north of the coastal area. The Israeli army is calling on the population to flee to the south for security reasons, the military said on Thursday. But Hamas members would, among other things, set up road blockades.
In a conversation published by the army, a Palestinian also reported shooting at civilians who wanted to escape. The information could not initially be independently verified.
However, according to the army, at least around 700,000 people have already fled to the south, and the United Nations even speaks of 1.4 million people displaced by the Israeli air strikes.
New rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continue to attack Israeli towns with rockets amid heavy airstrikes in the Palestinian territory. The warning sirens blared again in the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv.
Previously, there had been repeated rocket alarms in the towns on the edge of the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli army announced. There were initially no reports of casualties.
Iran warns Israel of defeat in the event of a ground offensive
Iran’s military leadership, however, threatened Israel with defeat if it invaded the Gaza Strip on the ground. “Let me tell you: Just as the staff of Moses became the dragon and thwarted the treachery of the Pharaohs, so Gaza (…) is the dragon that will devour the Zionists when they set foot on the ground,” the news agency quoted Tasnim the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Hussein Salami.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Israel has been Iran’s declared archenemy. Tehran has been expanding its political and military ties in the region since the 1990s to create an “axis of resistance” against Israel with the support of Shiite militias. After the Islamist Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Iran’s leadership praised the attack but rejected direct involvement.
United Nations: Water crisis in Gaza Strip eased slightly
The water shortage in the southern part of the Gaza Strip is easing slightly. This was possible because the UN organizations UNRWA and Unicef were able to collect fuel from depots and make it available, as the UN emergency relief office Ocha announced. Water pumps can be operated with the fuel.
There has been a water shortage in the Gaza Strip for decades. Drinking water is normally delivered by truck every day. Israel has suspended deliveries since the attack on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7th. UNRWA and Unicef are waiting for the last remaining fuel to be used up later in the day.
Attacks in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza War began
Since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, pro-Iranian militias have claimed more than a dozen attacks in Iraq and Syria. According to their own statements, they hit bases used by the US military with drones and missiles.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted seven attacks on targets of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia in Syria. The US think tank Washington Institute counted a total of 18 attacks, 11 of which were in Iraq.
“We are concerned about a possible escalation,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. What can currently be observed is the “prospect of a significant escalation of attacks” on US troops throughout the region. Ministry spokesman Patrick Ryder said this came from “Iranian proxies and ultimately from Iran”.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
