The Israeli army has once again attacked a Hamas command center in Gaza, according to its own statements. And the violence continues on other fronts as well.
Tel Aviv/Gaza/Beirut – Exactly eleven months after the unprecedented massacre by the Islamist Hamas in Israel, the Jewish state continues to take vigorous action against its enemies on several fronts. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Air Force carried out an attack in the evening that it said was aimed at a Hamas command center. The terrorists had set up the center in a former school building, the Israeli army announced on its Telegram channel.
Israeli warplanes also attacked more than 15 launch pads and military infrastructure belonging to the Hamas-allied Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon that same evening, it said. According to the Israeli army, some of the launch sites were prepared for imminent rocket attacks on Israel. An end to the hostilities is not in sight, even after almost a year since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s army: Hamas command center attacked
In the past week, more than 40 terrorist facilities were destroyed in the sealed-off coastal strip, the army announced in a weekly report early in the evening. These included “command and control centers disguised as schools, universities and humanitarian areas.” In addition, more than 100 terrorists were “eliminated” during the period and several tunnel shafts were discovered.
Late in the evening, the Israeli army announced that the terrorists had used the former school building attacked in northern Gaza to plan and carry out terrorist attacks on Israeli troops and the State of Israel. Before the attack with precision munitions, numerous measures had been taken to reduce the risk of civilians being harmed, it said. The military did not provide any information on possible casualties. The account could not initially be independently verified.
Dozens dead in the West Bank
During the large-scale army operation against Islamist extremists in Jenin, Tulkarm and Fara in the West Bank, around 35 terrorists were “eliminated” and around 45 other people arrested in the past few days, the military announced in its weekly report. In addition, dozens of weapons and explosives were confiscated and three explosives laboratories were destroyed. The ten-day operation in the city of Jenin, which is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians, has now ended, according to a Palestinian media report.
Meanwhile, the White House has called on Israel to investigate the death of a US activist in the West Bank. “We have reached out to the Israeli government to request more information and an investigation into the incident,” said US President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. “First of all, let us find out exactly what happened and we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
USA calls for investigation into death of American woman
According to Palestinian sources, the American woman of Turkish origin was killed by gunfire from Israeli soldiers during a protest against a settlement outpost. Israel’s army said it wanted to investigate. There had been “violent activity” in the area, after which Israeli forces fired at the person who had primarily instigated it. The person had thrown stones and threatened Israeli security forces, it was said. It was initially unclear whether the American woman was involved.
Israel focuses on fighting Hezbollah
In the clashes with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel’s army said it destroyed dozens of rocket launchers aimed at communities in northern Israel last week. There were around 50 attacks on buildings, infrastructure and weapons depots in the neighboring country, the military announced in the evening. Israel’s armed forces are currently “very focused on the fight against Hezbollah,” said Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi at a briefing.
The Israeli army’s Northern Command is “hitting a large part of Hezbollah’s capabilities in Lebanon before they can attack us,” Halevi was quoted as saying in an army statement. At the same time, they are preparing for “offensive measures.”
Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, there have been almost daily military confrontations with the Hezbollah militia in the border area with Lebanon. There have already been deaths on both sides – most of them were members of Hezbollah. The Shiite militia says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza war was triggered by the terrorist attack by Hamas and other Islamist groups on October 7 last year in the Israeli border region. More than 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 40,800 Palestinians have been killed and more than 94,400 injured in the sealed-off area since then. The figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians and are difficult to verify independently. According to the UN, the humanitarian situation in the severely devastated Gaza Strip, which is about the size of Munich, is “more than catastrophic”. The UN’s partners do not have sufficient food supplies to feed the people there.
Gaza negotiations to continue
According to Israel’s count, 101 people are still being held captive by Hamas, although it is unclear how many of them are still alive. The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, in which the US, Qatar and Egypt are mediating to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, have not made any progress for months. According to the Times of Israel, US Secretary of State Blinken indicated that the mediators want to present Israel and Hamas with a new proposal for an agreement in the next few days.
US media recently reported on a planned final proposal. If both sides do not accept this one again, it could mean the end of the negotiations, it was said. The US government announced on Wednesday that 90 percent of an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons had already been agreed. There was no agreement on the number and identity of those who should be released in the first six-week phase, reported the New York Times, citing US officials. dpa
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