The Israeli Army and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas were involved this Sunday in violent fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of people are desperately trying to protect themselves, Hamas sources said.
The Israeli air force carried out “very violent airstrikes” this morning near Khan Yunis and on the road between this city and Rafah, near the border with Egypt, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
A few hours later, a source close to the military branches of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the two groups were involved in “violent clashes” around Khan Yunis.
According to Palestinian medical sources, cited by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured this morning when Israeli forces bombed a house in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army claimed to have “intensified” operations in these areas of the southern Gaza Strip.
“We have to increase the pressure,” said Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, pointing to a growing number of casualties among Hamas fighters.
Already at the beginning of the ground offensive, the Israeli army had asked the population of the northern Gaza Strip to move south.
But with the intensification of fighting in the south and following the United States’ veto, in the UN Security Council, of a resolution proposing a ceasefire, fears are increasing for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, especially in the south.
Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip have already caused 17,700 deaths and 48,780 injuries, the Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, announced on Saturday.
The war was triggered by the attack on Israeli soil on October 7 by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza, during which 1,200 people died, according to Israeli authorities.
Hamas also took around 240 hostages, 138 of whom remain in captivity.
In response, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
Source: TSF
