Israel intensifies its attacks in the south of the Gaza Strip having secured almost total control in the north, while promising a war of “months“that he achieves his goal of destroying Hamasdespite the fact that the Palestinian enclave is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and registers almost 21,000 deaths.
“The Israel Defense Forces are close to completing the dismantling of Hamas battalions in the north of the Gaza Strip. We have killed many terrorists and commanders of Hamassome surrendered to our forces and hundreds were taken prisoner“, he indicated in a press conference Herzi Haleviboss of Israeli General Staff.
LOOK HERE: Egypt’s ambitious plan to end the war in Gaza and free all hostages
The soldier assured that his troops are concentrating “in the south of the Strip, in Jan Yunis”, a militant stronghold where the leaders of the Islamist group Hamas are believed to be hiding.
The bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel in northern Gaza are buried in a mass grave in Rafah, on December 26, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP).
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“The war will continue for many more months and we will act in various ways, so that the achievement is maintained over time. There are no magic bullets or shortcuts to the fundamental dismantling of a terrorist organization except persistent and determined fighting, and we are very, very determined.”, he stressed.
The war broke out on October 7 after a massive attack by Hamas that included the launching of rockets and the simultaneous infiltration of some 3,000 militiamen who massacred some 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 in the towns near Loop.
Since then, the Israeli Army maintains a strong offensive by air, land and sea against the Palestinian enclave, where there are already almost 21,000 dead and 55,000 injured.
The hand-to-hand fighting in the Gaza Strip left three other soldiers between 26 and 33 years old dead in the last few hours, one of them fell in the center of the enclave and the other two in the north.
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An injured Palestinian is wheeled away to attend a mass funeral, at Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on December 25. 2023 (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
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This brings to 495 the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the war broke out, of which 161 lost their lives in the ground incursion into the Strip, which began on October 27.
International pressure
“We continue the war and are intensifying the fighting in the southern Gaza Strip and elsewhere. We will fight until the end, with the help of the most advanced technology“said the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuafter a visit to the Intelligence Division in Kirya, Tel Aviv.
MORE INFORMATION: New drop in telecommunications reported in the Gaza Strip after Israeli bombings
Netanyahu insists on continuing the tough offensive against Gaza despite growing pressure, internal and external, for a ceasefire.
France asked Israel for a ceasefire on Tuesday and demanded “concrete measures” to protect civilians in Gaza, where almost all the inhabitants are displaced, in the midst of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to the collapse of hospitals, the outbreak of epidemics and the shortage of drinking water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel.
Even USAIsrael’s main partner and which has vetoed resolutions in the UN who ask for a ceasefire, try to resume with Qatar a mediation to achieve a truce like the one that occurred for seven days in November, and which allowed the release of 105 hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
On the other hand, the families of the approximately 129 hostages still in Gaza are also demanding a ceasefire to protect their loved ones, since several of them have died in captivity.
This Tuesday alone, at least 241 people were killed and another 382 were injured by attacks by the Israeli Army in Gaza, but the numbers could be higher and not have been reported since telecommunications completely collapsed again in the Palestinian enclave.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/DZJD5IXUNZBM7JXNHYHGPFOVVI.jpg "Israel predicts a war of “months” in Gaza, while the crisis in the enclave worsens 2")
Palestinians mourn their relatives, killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP).
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Other fronts
Israel announced this Tuesday that it is preparing to “all scenarios” wars on its border with Lebanon as attacks by the Lebanese Shiite group intensify Hezbollahwhich today attacked a Greek Orthodox church in northern Israel and left eleven wounded, two of them civilians.
This same Tuesday, Israel attacked Hezbollah positions after a surface-to-air missile was launched from Lebanese territory against an Israeli plane, which was not hit.
ALSO SEE: Missiles fired from Lebanon injure nine soldiers and damage church in Israel
On the side of Red Sea There are also hostilities: this Tuesday, an Israeli Army plane “successfully intercepted a hostile aerial target (apparently a drone) approaching Israeli territory“, reported a military spokesperson.
The Houthis in Yemenbacked by Iran – Israel’s greatest enemy – claimed to have fired several drones today against the city of Eilat, in the extreme south of Israel. They also said they hit a commercial ship with missiles.
On the other hand, the Government of Israel issued a security alert for its citizens in the Indiaafter an explosion occurred in New Delhi near the Israeli embassy, which left no victims.
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