East of the city of Khan Yunis
Eyewitnesses: Israeli ground troops in southern Gaza
December 3rd, 2023, 6:07 p.m
After the end of the ceasefire, the fighting in the Gaza Strip continues in full force. The south in particular is increasingly coming into focus. Eyewitnesses report ground troops in the region.
According to eyewitness reports, Israeli ground troops have now also advanced into the south of the Gaza Strip. They were in an area east of the city of Khan Yunis, eyewitnesses said. The reports cannot initially be independently verified. The Israeli military did not comment when contacted.
Israeli ground troops have been deployed in the north of the Gaza Strip for weeks. According to its own statements, the military has been carrying out massive air strikes in the south since the end of the ceasefire lasting several days on Friday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the war against the Islamist Hamas would continue “until the end” and until “total victory” over the terrorist organization, as the Times of Israel reported. He therefore made it clear that ground operations were the only way to destroy Hamas.
Leading US politicians urged Israel to better protect civilians during hostilities. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a new ceasefire and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners had previously been broken off. Hamas then declared that it would only release hostages once Israel ended its “aggression” and there was a permanent ceasefire.
“Silence is complicity”
In the south, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled the north are trying to avoid the shelling. According to the UN, people live in very small spaces. According to UN estimates, around 1.8 of the more than 2.2 million residents in the Gaza Strip had to leave their homes because of the war.
The spokesman for the UN children’s fund Unicef, James Elder, sharply criticized the Israeli attacks during a visit to the south of the Gaza Strip. A “bloodbath” is taking place there that is “immoral” and that “will certainly be understood as illegal,” Elder told the Al-Jazeera news channel. Anyone who accepts this is making themselves guilty. “Silence is complicity,” said the visibly shaken Elder.