War in the Middle East
Before the fall: Israeli troops surround the last Hamas strongholds in the north of the Gaza Strip
Israeli army soldiers take position (symbolic image)
© Ohad Zwigenberg / AP / DPA
Israel’s President Netanyahu recently called on Hamas to surrender. The Chief of General Staff believes the fighting spirit of the opponents has been broken. And another border crossing for aid deliveries will be opened. The night at a glance.
Israeli Defense Minister Joav Gallant said the last Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip were about to fall. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden pledged his continued support to Israel.
The Israeli armed forces are engaged in bitter urban warfare with Hamas units in the second largest city in the Gaza Strip. They suspect Khan Yunis to be the leadership of the Islamist organization and the hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli sources, more and more Hamas fighters have surrendered in recent days. In addition, according to National Security Advisor Zachi Hanegbi, around 7,000 Hamas terrorists have been killed so far.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other groups on October 7th in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 people were killed in the unprecedented attacks. Israel then began massive air strikes and, since the end of October, a ground offensive in the area. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, around 18,000 people have now been killed and more than 49,200 injured.
Biden pledges further support to Israel
US President Joe Biden assured Israel of further support in the fight against Hamas terrorists. “As I said after the attack (on October 7th), my commitment to the security of the Jewish people (…) is unwavering,” Biden said on Monday evening at a reception for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at the White House in Washington. The US would support Israel until the country got rid of Hamas. According to the White House, Biden emphasized that the USA was working tirelessly to ensure the safe return of the hostages. “And I won’t stop until we get every one of them home.” He is also working to get more “humanitarian aid for innocent Palestinian civilians.”
Minister: last Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza Strip before fall
According to the Israeli Defense Minister, the last two strongholds of the Islamist Hamas in the northern part of the Gaza Strip are surrounded by Israeli units. The Hamas command centers in the Jabalia and Shejaiya districts are encircled and on the verge of collapse, Joav Gallant said, according to Israeli media on Monday evening. “The battalions that were considered invincible and have been preparing for years to fight us are on the verge of being destroyed,” he added.
Israel captures over 500 Islamist fighters in a month
The Israeli military said it captured over 500 members of Islamist terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip last month. 350 of them belonged to Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before the war, and 120 to the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad, the army leadership said. The military counterintelligence and the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet would subject the prisoners to further interrogations.
Israeli army: Over 100 soldiers killed in ground offensive in Gaza
According to the Israeli armed forces, 104 soldiers have been killed since the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip began. Five military personnel were killed in a battle in the southern town of Khan Yunis alone on Sunday. They fell victim to a booby trap while advancing against a Hamas terrorist cell. A total of 432 Israeli soldiers died in the Gaza war. The figure includes the military casualties caused by the Islamist Hamas massacre at the start of the war. The army’s casualty record also takes into account soldiers who died in fighting with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon on Israel’s northern border, as well as the victims of accidents in action.
Israel opens another border crossing for Gaza aid shipments
Israel is opening another border crossing for the transport of aid to the suffering civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Trucks carrying goods for Gaza will in future also be able to use the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the Israeli Cogat authority, which is responsible for contacts with the Palestinians, and the military announced on Monday evening. However, as with the previously used Nitzana crossing, the trucks will not drive directly into the Gaza Strip. Instead, they head for the Rafah crossing via Egypt. Israel inspects trucks at its border crossings to prevent weapons from being smuggled. Water, food, tents and medical supplies can be brought to Gaza.
Like in the world war: EU representative calls the situation in Gaza apocalyptic
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described the situation in the Gaza Strip as apocalyptic. The destruction of buildings by the Israeli attacks was equivalent to that in German cities during the Second World War or was even greater, said the Spaniard after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. 60 to 70 percent of the people killed were civilians. The number of civilian casualties was unbelievable, he criticized. In the evening, Borrell also spoke of 1.9 million people who had to leave their apartments and houses. This corresponds to 85 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip.
What will be important on Tuesday
After the failure of a ceasefire resolution for the Gaza war in the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly plans to consider a similar draft on Tuesday. The text of the resolution introduced by Egypt calls, among other things, for a humanitarian ceasefire. A passage is considered very likely. However, UN General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but merely symbolic.