Thousands of displaced Palestinians continue to move by car, bus or foot from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip this Sunday (15) as Israeli troops prepare on the territory’s border for what could be a massive ground invasion.
On Saturday night, Israeli authorities announced that Palestinians had a three-hour window to safely move south using the Salahuddin Road. The deadline expired at 7am (Brasília time), but the movement continues.
Israel is preparing a “comprehensive offensive”, which must be carried out by land, sea and air throughout the region, but must concentrate efforts on a significant ground operation in the north of the Gaza Strip. The objectives would be to take Gaza City and try to free around 150 Israeli hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces released a statement on Saturday stating that essential combat equipment is already in position for an offensive. The country is now working to concentrate resources to establish logistical support lines for the future deployment of troops. BBC journalists who were on the border of the Gaza Strip this Sunday (15) stated that the artillery fire against Hamas is not stopping, but the ground troops are still in the process of organizing themselves before marching into Palestinian territory.
While preparations are underway, air strikes on Gaza have already occurred for the ninth day in a row. The Israel Defense Forces reported having killed terrorist Billal Al Kedra, who was responsible for the attack on the Israeli village of Nirim, in a fighter jet attack on Khan Yunis (south of the Gaza Strip).
The Israelis stated that the targets of their aviation and artillery are command centers, military installations, rocket launchers, observation posts and anti-tank weapons. The attack on these targets is part of the preparation for the ground invasion, according to analysts. Israel said it had bombed 100 targets since Saturday night.
But the bombings are also hitting civilians. This Sunday (15), Palestinian media outlets stated that an Israeli bomb hit a house in Rafah and killed 17 civilians, all members of the same family. On Saturday, security cameras captured the moment when a convoy of civilian vehicles moving from north to south was bombed, leaving 12 dead (mostly women and children). The attack was blamed on Israel by Palestinian authorities.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said around 2,300 people died in the Gaza Strip over the past week. The UN has stated that there are around one million internally displaced people in the Gaza Strip. This represents almost half of the local population.
The Israeli attacks are a reaction to massive terrorist attacks and rocket bombings that have left more than 1,300 dead in Israel since the 7th.
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