After a week-long cease-fire ended on Friday, the Israeli army resumed airstrikes on Gaza and expanded their ground operations to the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, December 3, as Israel faced minor rocket launches from Gaza.
Fighting between Israel and Hamas raged on Sunday for a third day since a week-long truce expired.
Heavy bombings were reported near Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, the southern city of Rafah and some parts of the north. The Israeli army has reportedly ordered more areas in and around Khan Younis to evacuate.
The United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) said that at least 160 Palestinian fatalities were reported in two incidents in northern Gaza Saturday: the bombing of a six-story building in Jabaliya refugee camp, and of an entire block in Gaza City.
In a summary of activity issued on Sunday, Israel’s military said that a drone strike had “eliminated” five Hamas militants.
In an additional statement, the army said that “about 500” tunnel shafts of Hamas’ underground array “have been destroyed” since the war began.
More than 15,500 people has been killed, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, by the Israeli air, sea, and ground offensive launched after the October 7 attack.
In a new estimate, OCHA reported that about 1.8 million people — roughly 75 percent of Gaza’s population — are internally displaced, up from an earlier figure of 1.7 million.
Regional Tensions
A US warship, the USS Carney, and multiple commercial vessels, including at least one Israeli-owned vessel, came under attack in the Red Sea by drones and missiles coming from Yemen’s direction, according to the Pentagon and Britain’s Maritime Agency. This marks the fourth attack on ships owned by Israeli businessmen since the onset of the war.
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An air strike in northern Iraq killed at least five pro-Iranian militants on Sunday, Iraqi security sources said, a day after Baghdad warned Washington against “attacks” on its territory.
Britain’s military will conduct surveillance flights over Gaza to help locate hostages still held by Hamas, London’s Defense Ministry confirmed during the weekend.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated, vis-a-vis the Israel-Hamas war, “you can only win in urban warfare by protecting civilians.”
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court vowed on Sunday to step up efforts to investigate alleged war crimes, as he wrapped up a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Khalil Wakim
