In the first phase of the war, before the seven-day pause for the release of hostages, Israel’s focus was on the north of the Gaza Strip (the enclave’s most populous area), with the Palestinians ordered to move south to flee. . Since the end of the ceasefire on Friday, attention has shifted to this area where many have taken refuge, with bombardments on Khan Younis and, next Monday, the arrival of dozens of tanks and troops. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promises that Israeli forces will do the “same and worse” to Hamas terrorists there than they did to those in the North.
‘The action now taking place will soon lead to destruction [do Hamas] in the entire Gaza City area and in the northern Gaza Strip,” Gallant said from an observation post from Israel, which allows him to see the Jabalia refugee camp and the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, both in the northern region. time, the IDF [sigla em inglês para Forças de Defesa de Israel] started working in the South. The fate of the terrorists of the Hamas battalions there will be the same as in the North, and worse,” he indicated, quoted by Times of Israell. “We will continue until victory and until all objectives are achieved: the elimination of Hamas and the return of the hostages to Israel.”
The war in Gaza began on October 7 in response to the Hamas terrorist attack, which Israelis say killed more than 1,200 people in Israel. About 240 people were taken hostage, with the ceasefire allowing the release of more than a hundred – in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and access of humanitarian aid to the enclave. The lack of agreement on the release of more hostages – there will still be 137 – resulted in the resumption of Israeli attacks, which had so far caused the deaths of more than 15,000 Palestinians (according to health authorities in Gaza, controlled by Hamas ). , but considered credible by the UN). More than 800 people have been killed since the attacks resumed.
The high number of civilian deaths has drawn criticism and calls for attention from the international community. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that what started with “an assassination”, referring to the October 7 terrorist attack, is now continuing with another “murder” in Gaza. Borrell pointed out that while Israel has the right to defend itself, “this high number of civilian casualties cannot be accepted” because “one horror cannot justify another horror and the international community is increasingly raising its voice and demanding that this horror must be stopped.” end.”
For its part, the US reiterated calls for Israelis to spare civilians amid Israeli efforts to limit casualties in the southern Gaza Strip. “What we have said is that they need to take additional steps to protect civilians,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, as quoted by AFP. “We’ve seen a lot more targeted evacuation requests” than in the North, he explained. He spoke of an “improvement” compared to what had happened before and hoped that “the number of displaced people in the South will be lower”. Still, he said the US will pay attention to it.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari explained that “precise instructions” are being given to Gaza residents close to Hamas’ “centers of gravity” to “temporarily stay away from the danger Hamas is placing them in.” Hagari explained that pamphlets are dropped with QR codes that provide access to a map of ‘safe’ locations. But critics say the maps are unreliable and are inaccessible to many Palestinians due to limited access to electricity or internet. For example, last Monday all telecommunications services in the north of the enclave were down.
Violence against women
Dozens of women marched in front of the United Nations building in New York on Monday to denounce the abuse and violations that Israeli women were subjected to during the Hamas attack. Israeli authorities are investigating the allegations, but it was only on Saturday that UN Woman condemned “the brutal attack” by the Palestinian terrorist group. Hamas rejects what it calls “lies.”
However, this Monday the US indicated that one of the reasons the terrorists did not want to release more female hostages was because they “didn’t want them to tell what happened to them” during their captivity. Miller declined to elaborate, saying the United States has “no reason to doubt” reports of sexual abuse by Hamas.
Source: DN
