“Heavy fighting” in the Gaza Strip
Israel reports destruction of Hamas military facilities
December 30, 2023, 1:21 p.m
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The war in the Gaza Strip has now lasted almost three months – but there is no sign of the fighting slowing down. The Israeli army says it has killed dozens of terrorists in the city of Gaza and eliminated two Hamas military installations in the north. Israeli tanks are also advancing into the south.
The Israeli army says it has destroyed two military facilities belonging to the radical Islamic group Hamas in Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip. The military said dozens of “terrorists” were also killed in the city of Gaza. The army spoke of “heavy fighting” and airstrikes in several locations in the Palestinian territory. The deployment of Israeli ground troops against the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas is being supported by the Israeli navy through shelling from the sea, it said.
Smoke rose above the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday. There was also sustained artillery shelling there during the night. Further south, more and more people sought refuge in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. There is no sign of the fighting easing up.
However, the Israeli military announced a four-hour tactical break in fighting in a camp in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip this Saturday. Military activities there would be temporarily stopped for humanitarian reasons, an army spokesman said on Platform
According to residents, Israeli tanks advanced further into areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip during the night. There was heavy air and artillery fire. The fighting on Friday evening and Saturday morning was concentrated in Al-Bureij, Nuseirat and Khan Yunis. These sites are three of eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip that received aid from the United Nations Palestine Relief Agency before the war.
According to a representative of the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, around 100 Palestinians were killed and 158 injured in the past 24 hours. The information cannot currently be independently verified. On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli troops were in the process of reaching command centers and weapons depots of the radical Islamic group Hamas. The military said it had destroyed a complex of tunnels in Gaza City that lay beneath a home belonging to Gaza Strip leader Hamas leader Jahja Sinwar.
Almost three months of war in the Gaza Strip
The Gaza war has now been going on for almost three months. Hundreds of fighters from Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU and the USA, entered Israel on October 7th and committed atrocities there, mostly against civilians. According to Israeli information, around 1,140 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip, of which 129 are still believed to be held by Hamas.
After the unprecedented attack by the Islamists, Israel announced the destruction of Hamas and has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip ever since. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 21,500 people have been killed so far.