The Israeli army squeezes its rope in the city of Gaza, where its troops launched the first operations and continued their bombing on Thursday, August 21 with the aim of taking the last great Bastion of Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
Five army divisions, composed of tens of thousands of soldiers, must participate in this offensive, according to the Army, which will remember in early September of 60,000 additional reservists.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, “approved” on Wednesday the offensive in Gaza-Ville, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will give his final agreement on Thursday, according to his cabinet.
The bombings continue
This operation was launched, while Israel did not formally react to the proposal of the mediators on a truce associated with a release of hostages retained in Gaza. The proposal was accepted on Monday by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, whose unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel caused this war.
The bombings continued on Thursday in Gaza-Ville, particularly in Jabalia Al-Falad and Al-Nazla (Northwest) and Al-Sabra (East), after a week of intense incursions in this largest city in the territory, in particular in the districts of Zeitoun (East) and Al-Sabra, according to witnesses. Many residents have fled the sector.
“The house is trembling, all night we live with the noise of explosions, artillery, war airplanes, ambulances and calls for help,” said Ahmad Al-Shanti, resident of Gaza-Ville (North). “The noise is approaching, but where could we go? We decided to stay. We can’t move.”
“The sky lights all night”
“No one in Gaza has slept, or last night or for a week. The bombings never stop. The sky illuminates all night,” said Amal Abdel al-Al, after having fled Al-Sabra to the south of the city.
“We are going to intensify our attacks against Hamas in Gaza. We have begun preliminary operations and our forces are on the outskirts of the city,” Army spokesman, General Effie Defrin, said on Wednesday. “We will create the conditions to bring hostages back.”
The security firm chaired by Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan in early August to confiscate the fields of Gaza-Ville and refugees in the center of the territory, to take control of security from the entire Gaza Strip and free the hostages.
Forty -nine hostages, including 27 dead according to the Army, are still captive of the 251 kidnapped during the October 7 attack.
A humanitarian disaster
The Israeli army has been begging the more than two million inhabitants in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 and now controls around 75% of the territory, where it extended, in the attack against Hamas, a devastating offensive that made tens of thousands of humanitarian disasters and caused.
For General Defrin, “Hamas today is no longer the same Hamas as before. Of a structured military terrorist organization, it has been reduced to a weakened and difficulty guerrillas.”
Since mid -May, “the senior officials (of Hamas) and around 2,000 terrorists have been eliminated, five divisions operate in the field, two key corridors have been established and around 10,000 objectives have been reached,” he said.
For Hamas, the operation against Gaza-Ville “testifies a shameless contempt for the efforts made by the mediators,” namely Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
A 60 -day truce?
The proposal of the mediators establishes a 60 -day truce, the delivery of 10 living hostages and remains of 18 hostages died in exchange for the liberation of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the entry of more humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to sources of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, its ally.
The remaining captives would be released during a second exchange, within the time of the truce, during which negotiations must be maintained for a high permanent fire.
A source of the Israeli government said that the Netanyahu government continued to “demand the liberation” of all hostages “according to the principles established by the cabinet to end the war.”
The International Red Cross has “intolerable” the intensification of hostilities in “the closed space” of Gaza “, which means more deaths, more destruction.”
Source: BFM TV
