After weeks of fighting against Hamas in northern Gaza, the Israeli army intensified its deployment in the south of the territory on Tuesday, raising fears of an “even more hellish scenario” for civilians. Engaged since October 27 in a ground campaign in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory, the Israeli army has expanded its ground operations to the entire Gaza Strip, with tanks deployed near Khan Younes, the new epicenter of tensions .
Information to remember:
- France announces freezing of Hamas leader’s assets in Gaza
- The Israeli army announces combat on the ground in the city of Khan Younes
- “An even more hellish scenario” is looming, warns the UN
- Israel denies asking WHO to empty Gaza aid warehouse
- Two civilians killed for every Hamas member, IDF estimates
West Bank: Washington imposes visa restrictions on Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians
The United States announced Tuesday the imposition of sanctions against Jewish settlers accused of attacks against Palestinians, in an attempt to stem violence in the occupied West Bank. “Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy against individuals suspected of helping to undermine peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including by committing acts of violence” against Palestinians, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
War in Gaza: Hamas government announces new death toll of 16,248
The Palestinian Hamas government announced Tuesday that Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip had left 16,248 dead since the war began on October 7. The dead Palestinians, the majority killed in airstrikes, are more than 70% children (7,112) and women (4,885), said in a press release the press office of the Palestinian Islamist movement, which took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
“The most intense day since the start of the ground offensive”
Israeli infantry entered the town of Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, and are carrying out intense ground fighting there, the Israeli army announced on Tuesday. “We are in the heart of Jabaliya, in the heart of Choujaiya (two localities in the north of Gaza) and now also in the heart of Khan Younes”, indicates, quoted in a press release, General Yaron Finkelman, head of the Southern Command, who mentions ” the most intense day since the start of the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 27.
80 Israeli soldiers killed since start of Gaza offensive, army says
A total of 80 Israeli soldiers have died since the start of the offensive launched by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip with the aim of “wiping out Hamas”, the communications office told AFP on Tuesday. of the Israeli army.
After three weeks of intense bombing, Israel launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 27, in response to the attack carried out on October 7 in southern Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement, which left 1,200 dead. , mainly civilians, according to the Israeli authorities. Israeli operations in Gaza have left nearly 16,000 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
“All telecommunications services” are at a standstill
At the start of its ground operation, the Israeli army asked the population of northern Gaza to migrate to the south of the territory, which had become even more densely populated with the influx of hundreds of thousands of these displaced people. During the night, witnesses told AFP of violent fighting near Khan Younes and air raids towards Rafah, at the southern tip of the territory, while the Palestinian Wafa agency reported “several” deaths in a strike. in Gaza City, further north.
International organizations are alarmed at the risks for civilians in Gaza, where “all telecommunications services” are at a standstill, due to “a cut in the main fiber networks on the Israeli side”, according to the telecoms group Paltel Palestinians. “An even more hellish scenario is about to materialize, to which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond,” declared the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, Canadian Lynn Hastings, whose Israel had announced last week that he will not renew the visa.
France announces freezing of Hamas leader’s assets in Gaza
France has decreed a six-month freeze on the assets of the leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinouar, considered the architect of the October 7 attack against Israel, according to a decree published Tuesday in the Official Journal.
“The funds and economic resources which belong to, are possessed, held or controlled by Yahya Sinouar (…) are subject to an asset freezing measure,” specifies the decree of November 30, which comes into force Tuesday. Bercy was not immediately available to specify the amount of these assets.
“An even more hellish scenario” is looming, warns the UN
An “even more hellish scenario”, to which humanitarian operations could be incapable of responding, is looming in the Gaza Strip, a UN official warned on Monday as Israel tightens its grip on the south of the Palestinian territory. Since the resumption of hostilities on December 1 after a seven-day truce, “Israeli military operations have extended to southern Gaza, forcing tens of thousands more people to flee into increasingly concentrated spaces, with a in desperate need of food, water, shelter and security,” Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, said in a statement.
“The conditions necessary to provide aid to the people of Gaza do not exist. If this is possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to come true, which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond to “, she added. “No one is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go,” insisted the Canadian, rejecting in these conditions the idea of “safe zones” mentioned by the United States. These zones can be “neither safe nor humanitarian when they are declared unilaterally,” she said.
Israel denies asking WHO to empty Gaza aid warehouse
The Israeli army denied on Tuesday having asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to empty a medical aid warehouse in the south of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, as its leader had claimed. “Today, WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces to remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in the southern Gaza Strip within 24 hours, as ground operations will render it unusable,” announced WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
“We call on Israel to withdraw this order and take all possible measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities,” he added. The Israeli Defense body overseeing civilian activities in the Palestinian Territories (Cogat) responded to this tweet with another. “The truth is that we did not ask to evacuate the warehouses and we made this clear and in writing to the relevant UN officials. We expect a UN official to be at least accurate (in his remarks),” indicated the (Cogat).
Two civilians killed for every Hamas member, IDF estimates
About two civilians were killed for every Hamas member killed in the Gaza Strip, senior Israeli military officials said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I’m not saying it’s good that we have a two-to-one ratio,” one official said in a press briefing, adding that the use of human shields was part of the “basic strategy “of Hamas. “It is to be hoped that this ratio will be much lower in the next phase of the war,” he added.
The growing death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have sparked outrage around the world. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says Israel’s post-October 7 campaign killed nearly 16,000 people. According to Israel, 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas on October 7 and around 240 people kidnapped and taken to the small Palestinian territory. Asked about reports that 5,000 Hamas members had been killed, one of the senior officials said: “the figures are more or less accurate.”