Israel is reportedly planning a sensitive military operation. The Houthi militia remains active. Is there a risk of further escalation in the Middle East? The news ticker.
- Tricky Army deployment: Thrusts Israel Army in Gaza Strip to Rafah?
- Violence against Civilians: USA sanction violent Jewish settlers in the West Bank
- The information processed here for War in Israel and the fight against them Hamas in the Gaza Strip come from local and international media and news agencies. Much of the information cannot be independently verified.
Update from February 2nd, 6:55 a.m.: The Houthi rebels say they have attacked a British merchant ship in the Red Sea. The attacks will only be stopped when the aggression in Gaza ends and the siege there ends, a Houthi spokesman said. A British Navy organization had previously reported that there had been an explosion near the starboard side of a ship. The ship and crew are safe and well.
Is Israel's army advancing into Gaza as far as Rafah?
First report from February 2nd: The highly explosive situation in the Middle East threatens to worsen further. This is what Israel is planning, according to the newspaper Times of Israel In Gaza, an army operation in the southernmost part of the sealed-off coastal area was considered extremely sensitive. The military will also reach and destroy the Hamas brigade in Rafah, the newspaper quoted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant as saying. There are now said to be more than 1.3 million people in Rafah and the surrounding area. That's more than half of the Gaza Strip's total population of around 2.2 million. Palestinian civilians are seeking protection from the fighting there in extremely small spaces.
be more than 1.3 million people in Rafah and the surrounding area. © Mohammed Talatene/dpa
Almost four months after Hamas' terrorist attack on southern Israel, Israel's army has moved deep into the Gaza Strip to crush Hamas. The southern end of the sealed-off coastal area, which borders Egypt with the divided city of Rafah and the border crossing of the same name, is so far out of reach of ground troops. The US newspaper Wall Street Journal reported three weeks ago, citing unnamed Israeli and Egyptian sources, that Israeli officials had informed Egypt of a planned military operation along the Gaza side of the border.
US sanctions violent Jewish settlers in West Bank
The US government, meanwhile, has imposed sanctions on four Jewish settlers accused of taking part in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. The US Treasury Department released the names of the four Israelis, who are also accused of intimidation and destruction of property.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed caution about the sanctions. “Israel takes appropriate action against anyone who breaks the law anywhere,” Israeli media quoted him as saying. Therefore, “exceptional measures are not necessary”. The “absolute majority” of West Bank settlers are law-abiding citizens, many of whom served in the armed forces to defend Israel, Netanyahu said, according to his office. (talk to agencies)
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