US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday asked Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to consider protecting civilians in Gaza and urged him to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Strip.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the two leaders discussed Israeli operations in Gaza last Saturday and that Austin “underscored the importance of protecting civilians during operations” by Israeli forces, urging Gallant on the “urgency” of granting humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. Gaza.
Lloyd also spoke of the need for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages.
Last Saturday, Israel expanded its land operation in Gaza, sending in tanks and infantry, supported by massive air and naval strikes.
The Israeli bombings from Friday evening until today were described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war, and communications in the enclave were also disrupted.
Israel’s Defense Minister said today that “the ground was shaking in Gaza” and that the war against the leaders of the Palestinian enclave, the Islamist group Hamas, had entered a new phase.
“We have moved to the next phase of the war,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in statements released today by Israeli media.
At the start of the war, Israel had already amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border. Until now, the troops had conducted brief nighttime ground raids before returning to Israel.
Aid workers say the amount of aid Israel allowed into the enclave through Egypt last week is a small fraction of what is needed. Hospitals in Gaza are scrambling for fuel to power emergency generators that support incubators and other essential equipment.
The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7 with the launch of thousands of rockets and the raid of armed militiamen, taking two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has been classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States. Israel bombed several of the group’s infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and imposed a total siege. the area with an interruption of the supply of water, fuel and electricity.
Hamas’ attack on Israel killed more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took nearly 200 hostage.
Source: DN
