War in the Middle East
Israel: Gaza Strip divided in half
Fire and smoke rise from buildings after Israeli air strikes on Gaza. photo
© Abed Khaled/AP/dpa
Israel’s army apparently wants to encircle the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is said that the coastal area is now divided into two. Meanwhile, people are receiving unexpected help from the air. The overview.
The Israeli combat units have advanced further in the densely populated Gaza Strip and, according to their own statements, have now completely divided the coastal area into two halves. The city of Gaza in the north is completely encircled, an army spokesman said on Sunday evening. This is a decisive step in the fight against the Islamist Hamas. However, civilians should still be able to travel to the southern part of the country to flee the Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel, all communications and internet services in Gaza were again down. And according to a media report, the Jordanian air force dropped medical supplies over the strip of land sealed off by Israel.
Help from the air
Around midnight, medical supplies and medicines were dropped by parachute over a Jordanian field hospital in Gaza, the newspaper “The Times of Israel” quoted a statement from Jordan’s King Abdullah II that night. Israel had imposed an embargo against uncontrolled aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip . It remained unclear whether the relief supplies reached the hospital. As the newspaper further reported, citing a US source, the action was carried out in coordination with the USA and Israel. There was initially no confirmation.
Israel demands that all aid supplies, which so far only reach the south of the Gaza Strip via the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, be checked. The aim is to prevent weapons from being smuggled to the Islamist Hamas, which rules in Gaza and which carried out an unprecedented major attack on Israel on October 7th. Terrorists killed more than 1,400 people on the Israeli side, including many children and young people.
After an Israeli attack on an ambulance that the army said was used by Hamas, departures from the Gaza Strip have been stopped for the time being. Injured Palestinians as well as foreigners and Palestinians with dual citizenship are affected.
Humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic
Aid organizations complain that the aid supplies that have so far reached the Gaza Strip by truck are far from enough. In the densely populated coastal strip, where around 2.2 million people live, the humanitarian situation remains devastating. The number of United Nations employees killed rose to 79. Five employees were killed within the past 48 hours, the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said on Sunday. The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip rose to 9,770, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
Israel: Gaza Strip divided into two parts
There is now “a North Gaza and a South Gaza,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday. The units had reached the coast in the southern part of the city of Gaza and were “holding” the area. The air raids and attacks on the ground were expanded in the evening. “Tonight we are conducting an important operation,” Hagari continued. According to the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel, all main Internet and communications lines in Gaza have been shut down by the Israelis. There was initially no confirmation of this from the Israeli side.
As the Times of Israel reported, at the instigation of the United Arab Emirates and China, the UN Security Council is to meet again for an emergency meeting to discuss the latest developments in the war between Israel and Hamas.
There are renewed confrontations on Israel’s border with Lebanon
Meanwhile, there were further incidents on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. According to Lebanese security circles and the Hezbollah militia, three children and their grandmother were killed in an attack by an Israeli drone. When asked on Sunday, the Israeli military said it had attacked “a suspicious vehicle.” It was “identified as a suspected means of transport for terrorists.” “The allegation that there were civilians in the vehicle is currently under investigation,” the army said.
An Israeli civilian was killed in a Hezbollah attack from Lebanon on Sunday, the army said. Hezbollah attacks Israeli military targets and populated areas without distinguishing between civilians and military personnel. Israel’s military is prepared for a possible major attack in Lebanon, said Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi during a visit to troops on Sunday. “We are ready to strike in the north at any time.”
Blinken warns militias
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a warning to pro-Iranian militias during a surprise visit to Iraq on Sunday. “Whoever wants to take advantage of the conflict in Gaza to threaten our employees here or elsewhere in the region – let it go,” Blinken said on the TV channel “Sky News”. His visit to Iraq also comes against the backdrop of increasing attacks by pro-Iranian militias on US troops in Iraq.
What is important today
Efforts to impose a ceasefire on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and reopen the Rafah border crossing continue. According to an Israeli media report, the UN Security Council is to meet again for an emergency meeting.