Status: 27.10.2023, 21:12 PM
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Explosions in the northern Gaza Strip caused by Israeli airstrikes. © Abed Khaled/AP/dpa
For days, it has been expected that an Israeli ground offensive will begin. Now, after massive bombing raids, the military is announcing an expansion of its operations against Hamas.
Tel Aviv/Gaza/Geneva - Israel's army has announced that it will expand its ground operations in the Gaza Strip against the Islamist Hamas. This was announced by military spokesman Daniel Hagari on Friday evening on Platform X, formerly Twitter. In the last few hours, the military has already intensified its attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Underground targets and terrorist infrastructure are increasingly being attacked, he continued. It was initially unclear whether the announcement marked the beginning of the Israeli military's widely anticipated ground offensive. The military had previously made sporadic, time-limited advances on the ground.
Media reports on Friday evening pointed to massive Israeli bombing raids in the Gaza Strip. A military spokesman said that the forces were "continuously" attacking targets in the Gaza Strip in their fight against Hamas.
Internet Shutdown in the Gaza Strip
According to the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, all communications and Internet services in the Gaza Strip were cut off. The heavy bombing by the Israeli army was to blame, the West Bank-based Palestinian telecommunications company "Paltel" announced.
Netblocks, an organization known for monitoring Internet blackouts, also confirmed a breakdown in Internet connections in the Gaza Strip on Platform X.
New Rocket Attacks on Targets in Israel
The Israeli army had already announced on Friday morning that it had attacked more than 24 targets in the Gaza Strip within 250 hours. Among them were Hamas tunnels, as well as command centers and rocket launchers, the army said.
Palestinian extremists in the Gaza Strip also fired rockets at Israel again on Friday, with sirens sounding in many places. According to aid workers, three people were injured when a rocket hit the metropolis of Tel Aviv. According to Israel, more than 8000,<> rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip since the war began. The vast majority of them are intercepted by Israel's missile defense system.
Damage to a residential building in Tel Aviv hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. © Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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More than 7,1400 people were killed in Israel in a terrorist attack by Hamas in the border area with the Gaza Strip on October 200. More than 300 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has been massively bombing targets in the Gaza Strip. In addition, the military mobilized some 000,<> reservists and massed forces near the Gaza Strip for a possible ground offensive.
Death Toll Continues to Rise in the Gaza Strip
The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has risen to 7326,3038 since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry. Among them are said to be 1792 children and adolescents and <> women, as the ministry announced. Initially, the figures could not be independently verified.
The UN Office for Emergency Relief (OCHA), citing Hamas authorities, said that nearly half of all homes in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed, uninhabitable or damaged by Israeli attacks.
Israel Continues to Reject Humanitarian Ceasefires 'Currently'
Israel rejected the call by EU leaders on Thursday evening for "humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian purposes" in the Gaza Strip. "Israel currently rejects a humanitarian ceasefire," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. This includes "any kind of requested ceasefire". Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU and the US.
UN Human Rights Office sees war crimes on the part of Israel
The UN human rights office accuses Israel of war crimes. Depriving the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip of electricity and fuel is a collective punishment. "Collective punishment is a war crime," the spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said in Geneva. The fuel shortage is forcing the closure of hospitals and bakeries.
People live in devastating conditions, there is a lack of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities are inadequate. "A humanitarian catastrophe is looming for the 2.2 million people trapped in the Gaza Strip who are being collectively punished," Shamdasani said. She added that the abduction of civilians is also a war crime.
Palestinians queue up to fetch drinking water from a water treatment plant. © Hassan Eslaiah/AP/dpa
Number of hostages higher than previously assumed
The number of hostages held in the Gaza Strip is higher than previously assumed by Israel. The families of 229 hostages had been informed by Friday, said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari. That was five more than the day before. It is expected that the number could still rise. According to the military, the four hostages already released by the Islamist Hamas are not included in the figure. According to Israeli information, among the hostages are citizens of 25 countries, including Germans.
Israel: "Dozens" of Hamas fighters hit
In the airstrikes since Thursday, "dozens" of Hamas members have been hit, the Israeli side said. A senior Hamas commander was also killed. The commander, Madhat Mubashar, was involved in several IED and sniper attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
WHO: Discussion on casualty figures not appropriate
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the discussion about the reliability of the casualty figures, which come from the Palestinian organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, to be cynical. For years, the WHO has had no reason to doubt the figures of these health authorities, said the WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Richard Peeperkorn.
It also makes no difference whether there are a thousand more or fewer victims - the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic, the number of victims from Israeli attacks is enormous. According to Peeperkorn, 23 of the 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are still partially functioning. It would also have to be operated on the floor, he said.
Third EU aid flight for Gaza launched
A third EU-funded flight carrying 51 tons of aid to the people of the Gaza Strip has made its way to the region. On Friday, a plane took off from Copenhagen, the EU Commission announced. Among other things, she brings medicines to Egypt. The EU will finance the total cost of all flights, it said.
The relief supplies are to be transported from Egypt to Gaza. According to the information, the goods are handled by partner organizations such as the International Red Cross. So far, however, very little relief supplies have arrived in the sealed coastal area. dpa