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Israel attacks central Gaza as it aims to expand its offensive

2023-12-26 14:19:02, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israel attacks central Gaza as it aims to expand its offensive

Israeli forces bombed Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza on Tuesday, residents said. It appears that Israel is preparing to expand its ground offensive into the third section of the occupied territory.

Israel has vowed to crack down on Hamas - a Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the US - over a deadly attack the group carried out in southern Israel on October 7. For weeks, Israeli forces have been engaged in fierce urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Han Yunis, pushing Palestinians to seek refuge on the outskirts of the territory.

Despite international pressure for a ceasefire and calls from the United States to reduce the number of civilian casualties, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned a day earlier that the war is far from over.

The war has devastated large parts of Gaza, killing more than 20,600 Palestinians and forcing the displacement of nearly the territory's entire population of 2.3 million.

As a result of the Hamas attacks, 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 240 others were captured.

Residents of central Gaza said on December 26 that during the night there were shelling and airstrikes in Nuseriat, Magazi and Burej towns. These camps housed Palestinians driven from their homes during the 1948 war with Israel - and now the camps are filled with those displaced by the latest war.

"The shelling was very intense," said Radwan Abu Sheitta, a Palestinian teacher who lives in Burej.

The Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of Hamas, said its fighters hit an Israeli tank east of Bureij. This claim could not be independently confirmed, but suggests that Israeli forces are moving towards the camp.

Also, there were air attacks east of the Nuseriat camp, residents said.

Israel has vowed to continue the war to destroy the military and governance capabilities of Hamas, the group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years./ REL





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