The fighting in the Middle East continues unabated. Hamas attacked the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Tel Aviv with rockets, and Israel bombed the Gaza Strip. The number of victims on both sides is increasing.
Hamas has fired rockets at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and Tel Aviv. There were initially no reports of casualties after the shelling. The Islamists had previously given the residents of Ashkelon an ultimatum of 5 p.m. (local time) to leave the city. Ashkelon is only 13 kilometers from the Gaza Strip and has therefore repeatedly been the target of rocket attacks.
Rockets were also fired towards Israel again from neighboring Lebanon to the north. Israel’s army responded with artillery fire, the military said. There were no reports of victims here either. It was initially unclear who the fire came from. According to the Israeli army, around 15 rockets were fired from the neighboring country, four were intercepted and ten landed in open areas.
Israel bombs Gaza Strip
At the same time, there continued to be Israeli retaliatory attacks for the major terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip. For example, the only access point to the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel, on the Egyptian border, was attacked by the Israeli Air Force for the third time in 24 hours.
The Israeli military also fired rockets at targets in the Gaza Strip. The attacks came despite Hamas’s threat to shoot hostages if there were civilian casualties on the Palestinian side. The Israeli military says it has now brought the border area with the Gaza Strip back under its control. Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said mines would be laid where the Hamas fighters had broken through.
Many dead in Kibbutz Kfar Aza
Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise on both sides. According to the Israeli embassy in Washington, the number of deaths on the Israeli side has now exceeded 1,000. The victims are mostly civilians, killed indiscriminately in their homes, on the streets and at a music festival.
Israeli soldiers found bodies of Israeli residents and Hamas fighters in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel. Israeli forces led foreign press representatives on a tour of the site, which is one of the worst-hit areas. “It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. It’s a massacre, it’s a terrorist act,” said Israeli Major General Itai Veruv at the scene.
In addition, according to Israeli figures, Hamas and other extremist groups have more than 150 people in their control, including soldiers. There are fears that terrorists are using them as living shields.
Thousands injured in Gaza
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 830 Palestinians have been killed and 4,250 injured in Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave since Saturday. According to the United Nations, more than 180,000 people are homeless in the area.
Around 2.3 million people live in very small spaces in the Gaza Strip. Three journalists were killed during an outdoor mission when an Israeli missile hit a building. This brings the number of reporters killed during the latest escalation to six. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Volker Türk, warned that civilians should be spared.
Signs of ground offensive
The Israeli government has announced a “tremendous revenge” for the weekend’s attacks. In this context, there are increasing signs of an impending ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel ordered the complete closure of the area, which is only 40 kilometers long and six to twelve kilometers wide, while the army mobilized 300,000 reservists.