Fighting took place on Tuesday between the Israeli army and Hamas militants amid ruins in the heavily bombed Gaza Strip, leading to new suffering for the Palestinians in the besieged territory, after almost three months of war.
Triggered by an attack of unprecedented scale by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7, the war has cost the lives of 22,185 people in Gaza, mainly women, adolescents and children, the ruling Hamas announced on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, adding that 207 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.
In response to the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to “destroy” the Islamist movement classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and the European Union. The army has since relentlessly shelled the small territory where 129 people out of some 250 taken hostage on October 7 are still being held by Hamas and its local allies. In Israel, the Hamas attack left around 1,140 dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Despite pressing demands from the international community for a ceasefire, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Monday that the army was preparing for “protracted fighting” that was expected to last ” throughout the year “.
“Dozens of terrorists”
On the ground, witnesses reported, during the night from Monday to Tuesday, missile fire towards the city of Rafah (south) and bombings around the Jabaliya refugee camp (north).
Fighting was also reported in the areas of al-Maghazi and Bureij, as well as in Khan Younes, from where thick plumes of smoke rose on Tuesday morning. This large city in the south of the territory has become the epicenter of Israeli army operations.
The army also announced on Tuesday that it had killed “dozens of terrorists” in recent days in Gaza, where it said it had discovered and destroyed “tunnel entrances”.
PHOTO AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A woman prepares bread dough near the rubble of a destroyed building in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
“This is the worst year of our lives,” Gaza resident Sami Hamouda, 64, said of 2023. “Every day is like the last: bombings, deaths and massacres. »
The war has caused immense destruction and a humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian territory placed by Israel under total siege since October 9, where famine threatens and most hospitals are out of service.
It also cost the lives of 173 Israeli soldiers, killed inside Gaza. On Tuesday, the army announced the opening of an investigation targeting one of its soldiers, suspected of having opened fire on a Palestinian detainee.
Monday evening, the Hungarian government announced the death of Ilan Weiss, who disappeared after the attack on October 7 and whose remains have just been discovered.
“Desperate” conditions
Witnesses in northern Gaza told AFP on Monday that they saw Israeli forces leaving several areas in and around Gaza City, likely suggesting a redeployment rather than a permanent withdrawal.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Israeli army was “adapting planning for the deployment of forces in Gaza,” including for reserve soldiers, because “the fighting will continue and they will always be required “.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said residents of some towns and villages near the Gaza border, many of whom have been evacuated since the October 7 attacks, could “soon return home.” “.
The Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents – 85% of whom have been displaced according to the UN – face severe shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine.
Despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding the delivery of humanitarian aid, aid trucks are arriving in trickles.
In the southern border town of Rafah, Mostafa Shennar, 43, from Gaza City, said living conditions were “just hopeless”.
Violence in the West Bank
International efforts, notably by Egypt and Qatar, to secure a new truce, have not materialized at this stage. At the end of November, a one-week truce allowed the release of more than 100 hostages and the entry of limited aid into Gaza.
In addition to the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank has also experienced an outbreak of violence, with more than 300 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October.
On Tuesday, four Palestinians were killed during an incursion by the Israeli army into the town of Azzoun. According to the Palestinian Wafa agency, they were killed during clashes with an Israeli force.
PHOTO JAAFAR ASHTIYEH, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A man stands near a damaged vehicle at the site where Palestinians were reportedly shot dead in a confrontation during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank town of Azzoun.
During the night from Monday to Tuesday, Israel carried out raids around several cities in the occupied West Bank including Ramallah, Jericho and Jenin.
Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din announced Monday that 2023 was the most violent year on record for settler attacks in territory occupied by Israel since 1967, “both in terms of the number of incidents than serious”.