After Hamas terrorists went on a violent rampage into southern Israel over three weeks ago, Israel started a punishing air campaign in the enclave. A Hamas spokesperson linked the truce to releasing captives in Gaza.
Although the U.S. and Arab nations have encouraged Israel to postpone the operation, increasing the potential for civilian fatalities in the heavily populated coastal strip and perhaps sparking a broader confrontation, Israel claims it is planning a land invasion.
Friday saw two American fighter aircraft target Syrian weapons and ammunition sites in retribution for attacks on American soldiers since the Gaza conflict broke out by Iranian-backed rebels.
According to a survey released on Friday, over 50% of Israelis now support delaying a ground attack because of concerns about the at least 224 hostages reportedly being held there.
A member of a Hamas team visiting Moscow was cited by the Russian newspaper Kommersant as stating that more time was required to find everyone who had been abducted from Israel by different Palestinian factions after the October 7 Hamas attack that precipitated the situation.
“They seized dozens of people, most of them civilians, and we need time to find them in the Gaza Strip and then release them,” Abu Hamid stated. According to him, Hamas has released four captives so far and has indicated that it plans to liberate “civilian prisoners” since the conflict began.
However, he repeated an allegation that Israeli bombardment had already killed fifty detainees, which Reuters could not confirm, saying that a “calm environment” was required to do this mission.
Although the Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the sortie, Hamas-affiliated media said that Palestinian militants engaged Israeli forces in combat in at least two locations within the Gaza Strip, marking the most recent of many small-scale incursions.
Central Gaza residents reported hearing intense shelling, what sounded like an exchange of fire, and Israeli jets dumping bombs and lights near the border. Israel claimed that Israeli fighter planes had hit three prominent Hamas members who were all Daraj Tuffah Battalion leaders and had participated in the operation on October 7. Hamas did not make a formal proclamation.
An air strike killed the pregnant wife of Palestinian lawyer Jehad Al-Kafarnah in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Kafarnah scrawled, in tears, “My life, my heart, I love you,” on the white sheeting that covered his wife’s body. Her 8-month-old stillborn child’s body was wrapped in white, and he cradled it in his arms.
GAZA CIVILIAN DEMANDS INCREASE
The 193 members of the U.N. General Assembly will discuss how to help the 2.3 million residents of Gaza, who are living under an Israeli siege that has prevented them from accessing food, fuel, and medical supplies in addition to power and water.
In contrast to the U.N. Security Council, where resolutions on sending supplies to Gaza this week failed, no country can veto the Arab governments’ call for a truce, which will have political weight but no legal force.
Over 600,000 Gazans have lost their homes as a result of Israeli shelling, according to UNRWA, the U.N. organization for Palestinian refugees. This number is at least three times the capacity of UNRWA’s shelters. A Palestinian official at Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt reported that ten additional trucks carrying food and medical supplies and ten foreign physicians arrived in the enclave on Friday. These were the first to enter since Israel tightened its embargo on Gaza three weeks ago.
Before this, a U.N. official stated that since the fighting began, about 74 trucks have passed, totaling about 84. According to the U.N., Gaza requires about 100 trucks daily to cover its basic needs. The official stated that talks were underway to develop a quicker procedure with Israel to stop supplies from reaching Hamas.
U.S. STRIKES IRANIAN PROXIES’ SYRIAN BASES
Concerns for the security of Israeli captives and Gaza’s civilian population and worries that the situation would incite violence throughout the Middle East have fueled calls for moderation.
According to the Pentagon, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered nocturnal strikes against two Syrian installations utilized by militias backed by Iran and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Earlier on Thursday, he sent Iran a rare direct warning not to harm American soldiers in the Middle East.
In the last week, fighters supported by Iran have assaulted U.S. and coalition forces at least 19 times in Syria and Iraq.
Over the last three weeks, the U.S. has dispatched warships and fighter planes to the area. On Thursday, the Pentagon said an additional 900 US troops were on their way to or already in the Middle East to support U.S. personnel’s air defenses.
Israel claims that during its October 7 attack, Hamas killed almost 1,400 people, including children.
Two thousand nine hundred thirteen children were among the 7,028 Palestinians who perished in the retaliatory airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, under Hamas’s leadership. Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.
A survey in the Israeli daily Maariv revealed that 29% of respondents disagreed with the statement that “it would be better to wait” before launching a significant ground attack. Half of those surveyed one week prior said they would favor a ground invasion.
“It is almost certain that the developments on the matter of the hostages, which is now topping the agenda, have greatly impacted this shift,” Maariv stated.
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