GAZA STRIP: Israel pressed its blistering assault within the Gaza Strip on Saturday as fears grew over a push into Rafah, the southern metropolis teeming with civilians uprooted by the practically four-month battle.
A barrage of air strikes and tank hearth rocked Khan Yunis in a single day and thru the day, an AFP journalist mentioned of the principle metropolis in southern Gaza that has been the main focus of Israel’s offensive.
The well being ministry in Hamas-run Gaza mentioned greater than 100 folks have been killed throughout the Palestinian territory in a single day, largely ladies and kids. The Israeli military mentioned its forces killed “dozens of terrorists” in northern and central Gaza over the previous 24 hours.
Tons of of 1000’s of Gaza’s 2.4 million folks displaced by the fierce preventing have fled south to Rafah because the outbreak of the battle, with their tents crammed alongside streets and in parks.
Town that had been residence to 200,000 folks now hosts greater than half of Gaza’s inhabitants, the United Nations mentioned.
Civilians who fled to Rafah have been pushed up towards the border with Egypt, attempting to keep away from components of the town uncovered to the preventing in close by Khan Yunis.
AFPTV photographs confirmed Palestinians gathered round a row of physique luggage on the Najjar hospital in Rafah after Israeli strikes.
“The kids have been simply sleeping and abruptly the bombardment occurred. God took certainly one of my youngsters and three escaped loss of life,” mentioned Ahmad Bassam al-Jamal, who additionally misplaced his father.
Hamas remained defiant, with an official from the Palestinian Islamist group that has dominated Gaza since 2007 saying it was “holding its floor” in Khan Yunis.
“The resistance continues to be steadfast in Khan Yunis… it’s inflicting losses on the occupation,” mentioned Mahmud Mardawi. “The enemy won’t obtain something by focusing on Khan Yunis.”
The United Nations humanitarian company OCHA mentioned it was deeply involved in regards to the escalation of hostilities in Khan Yunis, which has pushed increasingly folks south.
“Rafah is a strain cooker of despair, and we worry for what comes subsequent,” mentioned OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had warned on Thursday that the navy was set to coach its sights on Rafah.
“We’re reaching our missions in Khan Yunis, and we may also attain Rafah and remove terror parts that threaten us,” he mentioned in a video message the defence ministry despatched to journalists.
The battle in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 assault on Israel, which resulted within the deaths of about 1,160 folks, largely civilians, in accordance with an AFP tally based mostly on official figures.
Militants additionally seized round 250 hostages, and Israel says 132 stay in Gaza, together with not less than 27 believed to have been killed.
Vowing to remove Hamas, Israel launched a large navy offensive that has killed not less than 27,238 folks in Gaza, largely ladies and kids, in accordance with the well being ministry.
Israel has misplaced 224 troopers since beginning its Gaza floor operations in late October, in accordance with the military.
The preventing has devastated the slim coastal strip, whereas an Israeli siege has resulted in dire shortages of meals, water, gasoline and medicines.
Picture evaluation launched Friday by the UN satellite tv for pc centre UNITAR based mostly on footage collected on January 6 and seven confirmed “roughly 30 %” of Gaza’s buildings had been affected by the battle.
The hovering civilian loss of life toll in Gaza, in addition to fears amongst Israelis over the destiny of the hostages, have fuelled requires a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will journey to the Center East but once more within the coming days to press a brand new proposal involving the discharge of Israeli hostages in return for a pause within the preventing, the State Division mentioned.
Blinken will go to Qatar and Egypt — the mediators of the proposal — in addition to Israel, the occupied West Financial institution and Saudi Arabia beginning Sunday, it added.
The journey — his fifth because the battle broke out — comes after Qatar’s international ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari mentioned there have been hopes of “excellent news” a few contemporary pause to the preventing “within the subsequent couple of weeks”.
Ansari mentioned a truce proposal thrashed out in Paris had “been permitted by the Israeli facet” and acquired a “constructive” preliminary response from Hamas as properly.
However a supply near Hamas instructed AFP: “There isn’t a settlement on the framework of the settlement but — the factions have vital observations — and the Qatari assertion is rushed and never true.”
A Hamas supply mentioned it had been offered with a plan involving an preliminary six-week pause in preventing that might see extra support delivered into Gaza and exchanges of sure Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The leaders of Hamas and its Gaza ally Islamic Jihad, Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh and Ziyad al-Nakhalah, respectively, mentioned the most recent improvement and mentioned any future ceasefire should result in “a full withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Gaza, Haniyeh’s workplace mentioned.
The battle has sparked a surge in assaults by Iran-backed teams within the area in assist of the Palestinians.
The US navy launched a wave of air strikes towards Iranian forces and Tehran-backed fighters in Iraq and Syria in a single day in retaliation for a drone assault in Jordan that killed three US troopers on Sunday.
US forces within the Center East and their allies have confronted stepped-up assaults because the battle in Gaza started, coming below hearth greater than 165 occasions since mid-October.
Hamas denounced the strikes, saying the US would bear “accountability for the implications of this brutal aggression… which pours oil on the hearth”.
In Lebanon, in the meantime, the Israeli military mentioned its warplanes struck targets of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
A barrage of air strikes and tank hearth rocked Khan Yunis in a single day and thru the day, an AFP journalist mentioned of the principle metropolis in southern Gaza that has been the main focus of Israel’s offensive.
The well being ministry in Hamas-run Gaza mentioned greater than 100 folks have been killed throughout the Palestinian territory in a single day, largely ladies and kids. The Israeli military mentioned its forces killed “dozens of terrorists” in northern and central Gaza over the previous 24 hours.
Tons of of 1000’s of Gaza’s 2.4 million folks displaced by the fierce preventing have fled south to Rafah because the outbreak of the battle, with their tents crammed alongside streets and in parks.
Town that had been residence to 200,000 folks now hosts greater than half of Gaza’s inhabitants, the United Nations mentioned.
Civilians who fled to Rafah have been pushed up towards the border with Egypt, attempting to keep away from components of the town uncovered to the preventing in close by Khan Yunis.
AFPTV photographs confirmed Palestinians gathered round a row of physique luggage on the Najjar hospital in Rafah after Israeli strikes.
“The kids have been simply sleeping and abruptly the bombardment occurred. God took certainly one of my youngsters and three escaped loss of life,” mentioned Ahmad Bassam al-Jamal, who additionally misplaced his father.
Hamas remained defiant, with an official from the Palestinian Islamist group that has dominated Gaza since 2007 saying it was “holding its floor” in Khan Yunis.
“The resistance continues to be steadfast in Khan Yunis… it’s inflicting losses on the occupation,” mentioned Mahmud Mardawi. “The enemy won’t obtain something by focusing on Khan Yunis.”
The United Nations humanitarian company OCHA mentioned it was deeply involved in regards to the escalation of hostilities in Khan Yunis, which has pushed increasingly folks south.
“Rafah is a strain cooker of despair, and we worry for what comes subsequent,” mentioned OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had warned on Thursday that the navy was set to coach its sights on Rafah.
“We’re reaching our missions in Khan Yunis, and we may also attain Rafah and remove terror parts that threaten us,” he mentioned in a video message the defence ministry despatched to journalists.
The battle in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 assault on Israel, which resulted within the deaths of about 1,160 folks, largely civilians, in accordance with an AFP tally based mostly on official figures.
Militants additionally seized round 250 hostages, and Israel says 132 stay in Gaza, together with not less than 27 believed to have been killed.
Vowing to remove Hamas, Israel launched a large navy offensive that has killed not less than 27,238 folks in Gaza, largely ladies and kids, in accordance with the well being ministry.
Israel has misplaced 224 troopers since beginning its Gaza floor operations in late October, in accordance with the military.
The preventing has devastated the slim coastal strip, whereas an Israeli siege has resulted in dire shortages of meals, water, gasoline and medicines.
Picture evaluation launched Friday by the UN satellite tv for pc centre UNITAR based mostly on footage collected on January 6 and seven confirmed “roughly 30 %” of Gaza’s buildings had been affected by the battle.
The hovering civilian loss of life toll in Gaza, in addition to fears amongst Israelis over the destiny of the hostages, have fuelled requires a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will journey to the Center East but once more within the coming days to press a brand new proposal involving the discharge of Israeli hostages in return for a pause within the preventing, the State Division mentioned.
Blinken will go to Qatar and Egypt — the mediators of the proposal — in addition to Israel, the occupied West Financial institution and Saudi Arabia beginning Sunday, it added.
The journey — his fifth because the battle broke out — comes after Qatar’s international ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari mentioned there have been hopes of “excellent news” a few contemporary pause to the preventing “within the subsequent couple of weeks”.
Ansari mentioned a truce proposal thrashed out in Paris had “been permitted by the Israeli facet” and acquired a “constructive” preliminary response from Hamas as properly.
However a supply near Hamas instructed AFP: “There isn’t a settlement on the framework of the settlement but — the factions have vital observations — and the Qatari assertion is rushed and never true.”
A Hamas supply mentioned it had been offered with a plan involving an preliminary six-week pause in preventing that might see extra support delivered into Gaza and exchanges of sure Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The leaders of Hamas and its Gaza ally Islamic Jihad, Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh and Ziyad al-Nakhalah, respectively, mentioned the most recent improvement and mentioned any future ceasefire should result in “a full withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Gaza, Haniyeh’s workplace mentioned.
The battle has sparked a surge in assaults by Iran-backed teams within the area in assist of the Palestinians.
The US navy launched a wave of air strikes towards Iranian forces and Tehran-backed fighters in Iraq and Syria in a single day in retaliation for a drone assault in Jordan that killed three US troopers on Sunday.
US forces within the Center East and their allies have confronted stepped-up assaults because the battle in Gaza started, coming below hearth greater than 165 occasions since mid-October.
Hamas denounced the strikes, saying the US would bear “accountability for the implications of this brutal aggression… which pours oil on the hearth”.
In Lebanon, in the meantime, the Israeli military mentioned its warplanes struck targets of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
