Israel warned that the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will continue “throughout” 2024, after a New Year’s Eve marked by incessant attacks on the besieged Palestinian territory and rocket launches against Tel Aviv.
Almost three months after the start of the war, triggered after an attack launched on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in IsraelIsraeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced to troops on Sunday night that some reservists would be pausing to prepare for “prolonged combat.”
READ MORE | Netanyahu says war in Gaza will last “several more months” and will continue until “victory”
The military “must plan ahead as we will be asked to perform additional tasks and combat throughout this year,” he said.
Israel promised to destroy Hamas after the attack perpetrated on its soil from Gaza by commandos of this organization classified as “terrorist” by United States, Israel and the European Union. This attack left around 1,140 dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on the latest official Israeli figures.
LOOK HERE | Israel attacks Hezbollah military positions in Lebanon after repeated offensives against its territory
The Islamist group also took about 250 hostages, most of whom remain captive in Gaza, according to Israel.
In response, the Jewish State launched a devastating offensive in Gaza, which has so far left 21,978 dead, mostly women, adolescents and children, according to figures from Hamaswho governs the Strip.
The war will still last for “many months,” the Israeli prime minister warned last week. Benjamin Netanyahu.
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED | The US approves new arms sales to Israel without going through Congress
The Minister of Internal Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, called this Monday for the return of Israeli settlers in Loop after the conflict and “invited” the Palestinian population to emigrate outside the Strip. Statements similar to those made on Sunday by another minister from the hard wing of the executive.
Within the framework of internal Israeli politics, the Supreme Court inflicted a severe setback on Netanyahu’s government by invalidating a key measure of the controversial judicial reform, which had sparked a wave of protests between January and September in Israel.
The Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, criticized that the Supreme Court took this measure in the middle of the war, “which goes against the unity necessary these days for the success of our combatants on the front.”
READ HERE | Israel attacks different points in Gaza and claims to have killed “dozens” of Hamas militiamen
An AFP correspondent reported artillery fire and airstrikes on the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis. Loopon New Year’s Eve.
At least 24 people died in those attacks, according to the Ministry of Health of Hamas. According to the same source, 15 bodies from the same family were recovered on Monday under rubble of a house bombed on Sunday night in Jabaliya, northern Gaza.
“Every day is like the last: bombings, death and massacres,” lamented Sami Hamouda, 64, who said it was his cousin’s house that had been destroyed.
There was also desolation in Deir al Balah, in the center of Loopwhere residents and members of the emergency services were trying to remove the injured from under the rubble.
READ HERE | Israel rejects complaint for genocide in Gaza presented by South Africa before the UN court
In several parts of Israel, warning sirens sounded at the start of 2024. AFP journalists in Tel Aviv They witnessed defense systems intercepting rockets in the sky, sending some revelers running for cover.
The Israeli army confirmed the attack without reporting any casualties or damage.
– “Worst year of my life” –
In the besieged Gaza Stripwhere according to the UN 85% of the population has been displaced and the humanitarian situation is critical, the bombings continue without rest.
“The living conditions in Gaza are desperate,” Mostafa Shennar, a 43-year-old coffee seller, originally from Gaza City, but who is taking refuge in Rafah, in the south of the enclave, told AFPTV.
CHECK HERE | South Africa denounces Israel for “genocide” before the International Criminal Court
“The year 2023 was the worst of my life,” lamented Ahmed al Baz, 33, who had to leave his home in Ciudad de Loop and now lives in a makeshift camp in Rafah, in the south of the territory.
The siege imposed by Israel left the Gazans with a shortage of food, water, medicine and fuel, alleviated only by aid trucks that arrive in dribs and drabs. About 120 entered on Sunday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “epic human suffering” faced by Palestinian civilians, while the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the risk of infectious diseases.
In the other Palestinian enclave, in West Bank occupied, violence has intensified since October and, according to the Israeli NGO Yesh Din, attacks by Jewish settlers reached record levels, with at least 10 dead.
CHECK OUT MORE | Four injured in “a car attack” next to an Israeli military post in the West Bank
Meanwhile, international mediators continue efforts to reach a new pause in the war.
A Hamas delegation visited Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian plan for rolling truces, staggered release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, and an end to the war, sources close to Hamas said. Hamas.
The conflict also heightened tensions in the Middle East, both on the border between Israel and Lebanon and in the Red Sea.
A Iranian vessel entered this maritime area this Monday, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels, close to Iran, multiplied their shooting against commercial ships linked to Israel.
The United States, along with other Western countries, patrols that area to protect commercial traffic and interests. Israelis.
