Location at a glance
Netanyahu successfully operated – increased attacks in Gaza
The Israeli military wants to break Hamas’ last resistance in the northern Gaza Strip. But from there, of all places, a volley of rockets is flying towards Israel for the first time in a long time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has successfully undergone prostate surgery. The Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem said the 75-year-old woke up after the procedure under general anesthesia and was in good condition. He will remain under observation in the coming days. On Saturday, Netanyahu’s office announced that Netanyahu needed surgery.
The head of government has often been in hospital for health problems in the past. He was last operated on for a hernia at the end of March. He had a pacemaker inserted last summer. Court dates in Netanyahu’s corruption trial have been canceled due to next week’s operation. The scheduled hearings were postponed until January 6 and the following days.
Israeli army increases pressure on Hamas
Meanwhile, almost 15 months after the start of the Gaza war, the Israeli army increased pressure on the Islamist Hamas in the coastal strip. According to Palestinian reports, more than 20 people were killed in new violent attacks in the northern and central part of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants, meanwhile, fired rockets at Israel for the third day in a row. The information could not initially be independently verified.
A ceasefire and a hostage agreement have not yet been reached in the Gaza Strip because Hamas “does not want there to be an agreement,” Netanyahu emphasized at a government meeting on Sunday before his operation. “The situation is less optimistic,” the Jerusalem Post quoted participating ministers as saying. The message is that negotiations over the hostage deal are deadlocked because Hamas is “constantly trying to change the direction of the talks.”
Rocket volley on Israeli border town of Sderot
Five projectiles from Palestinian militants flew into Israeli territory from the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army reported. The missile defense intercepted two of them, the rest fell in open areas. There had previously been a rocket alarm in the border town of Sderot. According to police, rocket parts hit two locations in the city.
The Israeli TV channel N12 reported that Hamas could try to “fire” remaining rockets in Beit Hanun before the army finds them there. A new military operation had previously begun in the town. The aim of the military pressure is also to persuade Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, the broadcaster reported. However, Hamas accuses Israel of torpedoing such an agreement with ever new conditions in indirect negotiations brokered by the USA, Egypt and Qatar.
Israel shells hospital in Gaza city
Israeli forces shelled the Al-Wafa hospital in the east of Gaza city. The Hamas-controlled civil protection agency in Gaza said seven Palestinians were killed in the attack. An Israeli bullet hit the fifth floor of the clinic. Eyewitnesses said the building was evacuated in panic when the attack began.
According to the Israeli army, the hospital was not in operation at the time of the attack. Rather, it is said to have housed the command center of a Hamas air defense unit. This was the target of the bombardment with precision ammunition. This information could not be independently verified either.
Repeated attacks on hospitals
Israel repeatedly attacks hospitals in the Gaza Strip on the grounds that Hamas positions, weapons depots and fighters are located there. Only on Saturday did the military end a three-day operation at Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern city of Beit Lahia. According to its own statements, it arrested 240 fighters from the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad. “Around 20 terrorists were killed during the operation,” the military said. The area near the clinic is “an active combat zone” and terrorists have set booby traps and bombs there.
The patients were evacuated, the clinic ceased operations and some of the buildings burned down. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 33 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have had to close due to the war since the war began on October 7, 2023.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that nine people were killed and 15 others injured in the shelling of the Nuseirat refugee district in the central part of the disputed coastal strip. These include women and children. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was not aware of any attacks in the area.
Wafa also reported that seven more people were killed in Beit Hanun in the north of the Gaza Strip. The army spokeswoman said they were checking the reports.
Soldier killed in fighting in Gaza Strip
According to the Israeli army, a 22-year-old soldier was killed in fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to the army, 824 soldiers have been killed so far in the attack by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip on Israel with 1,200 dead and 250 abducted on October 7, 2023 and in the fighting that followed.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 45,500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 108,100 others injured in the Gaza Strip since the war began. The information does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
dpa
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.
