The IDF has penetrated the lair of its enemy. Israel said late Tuesday that its troops were now "in the heart of Gaza City," a month after the start of the war sparked by the unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian movement Hamas.
Tel Aviv, which has vowed to "annihilate" Hamas, sent ground troops into the Gaza Strip on October 27 and encircled the eponymous city. Under air cover, Israeli soldiers continued to advance into Palestinian territory, and on Tuesday night Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed they were "in the heart of Gaza City."
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Intense ground clashes are taking place in the north of the territory, where the city that Israel says is home to Hamas' "center." In the past 24 hours, "troops (there) have secured a Hamas military stronghold... seizing missiles, anti-tank launchers, weapons and various intelligence materials," according to the IDF. Planes also destroyed "Hamas tunnels."
The aim of this military operation is, in addition to the destruction of the Palestinian Islamist group, to try to rescue hostages. On October 7, Hamas fighters infiltrated into southern Israel also took more than 240 people hostage, according to Tel Aviv.
While Israel unilaterally withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu told the American channel ABC News on Monday night that his country would take "for an indefinite period of time, the general responsibility for security" in the Palestinian territory after the war, to prevent a return of Hamas, according to him an organization labeled "terrorist" by the United States and the European Union. "In general, we do not support a reoccupation of Gaza," Washington said Tuesday.
Shelling continues
As the Israeli military has intensified its bombing campaign from air and sea, NGOs, the UN, leaders in the Arab world and other countries have repeatedly called for a ceasefire. The idea is also rejected by the United States, a close ally of Israel, which is pushing for "humanitarian pauses" and insisting on "Israel's right to defend itself."
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday again called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in the Palestinian territory. He also condemned Hamas' "terrorist acts" on October 7 and reiterated his call for the release of the hostages.
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Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also called for a ceasefire, which it said was "a sine qua non" for organising the humanitarian response, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on the parties to end the suffering of civilians, deploring a "moral bankruptcy".
Israeli bombardment is taking a heavy toll on the estimated 2.4 million Palestinians trapped in the 362-square-kilometer territory. They have been cut off from water, electricity and food supplies by the siege imposed by Israel since 2 October, despite the fact that Gaza has already been under an Israeli blockade for more than 9 years.