The Israeli Army is surrounding and attacking the interior of the Palestinian city of Gaza, the main city of the Strip.while deepening its ground offensive on the enclave that began seven days ago, the Chief of the Army Staff, Herzi Halevi, reported this Thursday.
(Also read: Hamas announces 27 dead in bombing near UN school in Gaza).
“We have advanced towards another important stage in the war. “The forces are in the heart of northern Gaza, operating in Gaza City, surrounding it,” Halevi said in a statement to the press.
“The forces are fighting in a dense and complex urban area, which requires professional combat and bravery,” added the military command, who explained that “the ground forces are accompanied by precise intelligence, with fire from the air and the sea.”
Halevi also highlighted the “painful and difficult price” of the fighting in Gaza, which have so far left 18 Israeli soldiers dead, one of them a lieutenant colonel who died this Thursday, according to the latest data released by the Army.
(Continue reading: ‘Time is running out to avoid genocide in Gaza’: The warning from UN rapporteurs).
Asked about the fuel shortage in Gaza and the resulting closure of hospitals due to the tightening of the Israeli blockade, The chief of the General Staff dismissed the warnings from the Gazan authorities about the collapse of the health system, although he acknowledged that Israel plans to authorize the entry of fuel once it runs out.
According to Palestinian residents who remain in Gaza City, Israeli troops are surrounding the city while carrying out raids and localized attacks.
Beny Gantz, former Minister of Defense and an opposition leader who decided to form an emergency government with Benjamin Netanyahu to form part of the war cabinetnoted this Thursday that the fighting in the Strip is among “the most difficult” in Israel’s history.
These statements come shortly after the Israeli military spokesman reported that Its troops maintain strong clashes with militants of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the north of the enclave in parallel with intense bombings on the Strip.
(I recommend: First evacuations from Gaza and new bombing of the refugee camp).
Besides, The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that there have already been more than 9,000 deaths in Gaza since the beginning of the waralmost a month ago, and the number of injured exceeded 32,000.
This Thursday marks the twenty-seventh day of war between Israel and Hamas, which began with the attack on October 7 by the armed wing of the Islamist group against Israeli territory, which caused 1,400 deaths, more than 5,400 wounded and 242 kidnapped who were taken to Gaza.
EFE
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