Israel surrounds Gaza City/ The fighting does not stop

2023-11-03 07:54:01, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli forces announced on Thursday that they have surrounded Gaza, the main city of the Gaza Strip, in an effort to eliminate Hamas. The Palestinian militant group responded by launching guerrilla attacks from underground tunnels.

The city, which lies in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, has become the epicenter of an attack by the Israeli army, which has vowed to destroy the Islamic group's command structure and told civilians to flee south.

"We are at the peak of the battle. We have had significant successes and progressed beyond the outskirts of Gaza City. We are moving forward," declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He gave no other details.

Amid heavy explosions in Gaza, the Israeli army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, told reporters that: "the troops had surrounded Gaza City, the central point of the terrorist organization Hamas", as he put it.

Israel expands ground attacks in Gaza, UN concerned about attacks on hospitals
October 30, 13:37

Gen. Iddo Mizrahi, Israel's chief of military engineers, said troops were encountering mines and traps.

"Hamas has learned and prepared itself well," he said.

Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, said in a televised appearance on Thursday that the death toll from Israeli forces in Gaza was much higher than the army had announced.

"Your soldiers will turn into coffins ," he said.

Israel says it has lost 18 soldiers and killed dozens of militants since expanding ground operations on Friday.

Israel and the UN/ A difficult relationship
October 30, 08:55

Residents, who showed footage of the battle, said Hamas and allied Islamic Jihad fighters emerged from the tunnels and attacked the tanks before disappearing into the underground maze.

In a Hamas military video, a fighter surfaces in a Gaza field and plants an explosive device on a tank. The explosion is heard as the fighter, who appears to be wearing a body camera to document the action, runs into the tunnel and fires a rocket at the tank.

UN experts said Palestinian civilians were at risk of genocide. The Palestinian civilian population faces shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel.

"Water is being used as a weapon of war," said Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.

"The situation is very complicated in Israel"/ Biden, calls for a ceasefire
November 2, 07:53

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is headed to the Middle East where he will discuss concrete steps to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

Over a third of Gaza's 35 hospitals are not functioning, while many have turned into makeshift refugee camps.

"The situation is beyond catastrophic ," said the charity 'Medical Aid for Palestinians', describing overcrowded corridors and many homeless doctors who had lost their relatives.

"We are convinced that the Palestinian people are in great danger of genocide" , said seven UN special rapporteurs in Geneva. "We demand a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most."

House of Representatives, $14.5 billion in aid to Israel
November 3, 07:16

White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that temporary humanitarian pauses in certain areas would not hamper Israel's defenses.

"What we are trying to do is explore the idea of ??as many pauses as may be necessary to provide humanitarian aid, to continue the evacuation of residents, including hostages," Mr. Kirby told the press .

In his meetings in Israel and Jordan on Friday, Chief Diplomat Blinken said he would also discuss the future of Gaza and laying the foundations for a future Palestinian state./ VOA