Israeli ground operations were underway after declaring Gaza City’s encirclement on Friday, November 3. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged a “difficult” operation, while Hamas fighters made use of a network of tunnels to set up ambushes.
Israel carried out new strikes on Friday against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where it is continuing its ground operations, just as the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived in Tel Aviv to call for “concrete measures” to spare civilians.
Gaza City Surrounded
Israel, which has promised to “annihilate” Hamas, the ruling force in the Gaza Strip, had announced on Thursday evening, after almost a week of ground fighting, that it had succeeded in encircling Gaza City, where entire districts have been transformed into fields of ruins, in order to destroy the “centers” of the Islamist movement.
According to Hamas, more than 9,000 people, including 3,760 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip.
“We are at the heart of the (military) campaign, our successes are impressive”, boasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday during a visit to a military base near Tel Aviv. He added that Israeli forces had passed the outskirts of Gaza City.
He acknowledged, however, that the operation was “difficult” and that Israel was suffering “painful losses”. The army has reported 332 soldiers killed since October 7, including 24 since the start of operations in the enclave.
Difficult Israeli Progress
Difficult Israeli ProgressClashes continued between Palestinian factions and the Israeli army on the west-north axis of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning.
Videos posted by Hamas show fighters from the Islamist group emerging from tunnels to attack Israeli tanks, whose progress is made difficult by the destruction.
For the armed wing of Hamas, “Gaza will be a curse for Israel”. The Israelis should expect “more of (their) soldiers to return in black bags”, warned the spokesman for the al-Qassam brigades on Thursday.
The Israeli army said it had carried out further strikes in Gaza on Thursday night, fighting “a number of terrorist units” who used “anti-tank missiles” and homemade explosive devices.
Since mid-October, the Israeli army has been calling on the population to flee the northern Gaza Strip, particularly densely populated Gaza City, where bombardments have razed entire neighborhoods and where the bulk of military operations are concentrated.
Catastrophic Humanitarian Situation
For almost four weeks, the 2.4 million inhabitants of the besieged Gaza Strip have been living under Israeli bombardment, in a catastrophic humanitarian situation.
Since October 9, the “complete siege” imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip has deprived the population of water, food and electricity supplies. The territory had already been subjected to an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since Hamas took power there in 2007.
More than 370 trucks of humanitarian aid have arrived since October 21, according to the UN, which is calling for more massive aid.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that 14 hospitals out of a total of 36 and two specialized medical centers were no longer operational, due to the war and lack of fuel.
According to Hamas, Israeli strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday on the Jabaliya refugee camp (north), the largest in the Gaza Strip, left 195 people dead and 120 missing. On Thursday, UNRWA announced that deadly strikes had targeted four of its schools in the north and center of the Gaza Strip, including one in the Jabaliya camp.
In addition, UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said on Thursday that the Palestinian people were running “a serious risk of genocide”.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
