2024-01-07 18:31:00
This Saturday, airstrikes in the Gaza Strip left at least 64 dead. (AFP Photo)
The war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas entered its fourth month this Sunday without showing signs of truce, with new Israeli bombings focused on the south of the Gaza Stripwhile US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tours the Middle East to try to avoid a regional escalation.
The Israeli army carried out airstrikes all night on Saturday, including at least six in the city of Rafah, in the south of the enclave and on the border with Egypt, the AFP news agency reported.
At least 64 people were killed in these attacks, the Hamas Health Ministry said.
This Sunday morning, witnesses reported bombings in Khan Yunis, also in the south of the territory and the new epicenter of the fighting.
The day before, the Israeli army announced that “the dismantling of the Hamas military structure in the north” of Gaza has been completed and that from now on it will focus “on the center and south” of the enclave.
The enclave’s Health portfolio also stated that two palestinian journalistsMustafa Thuria, a freelance cameraman who worked for the AFP agency, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a reporter for the Al Jazeera channel, died in an Israeli bombing when they were traveling in a vehicle.
Since the start of the war, on October 7, and until December 31, at least 77 journalists and media workers have died, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Of the 77 reporters killed, 70 were Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese
For its part, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced this Sunday that it evacuated its staff from a hospital in central Gaza. “The situation has become so dangerous that some members of our team who live in the neighborhood could no longer even leave their homes due to constant threats from drones and snipers,” he said. Carolina Lopez, member of the NGO.
Despite international pressure and calls for a ceasefire, Israel remains inflexible. “The war will not be over until we have achieved (our objectives),” which are “the elimination of Hamas,” the return of the hostages and that “Gaza is no longer a threat to Israel,” he declared on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But in Israel not everyone supports this line. At night, Protesters took to the streets in Tel Aviv to demand the resignation of the government and early elections. “We are tired!”, declared Shachaf Netzer, 54 years old. “We need new elections. We need a new government. We need a new leader.” Approximately 20,000 people gathered in the city according to data from the organizers, as reported by the Europa Press news agency.
In this context, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, whose country is Israel’s main ally, is making a new tour of the region.
This Sunday he met with King Abdullah II of Jordan, who, according to a statement from the Palace, asked the US put pressure on Israel for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, warning of “catastrophic repercussions” if hostilities continue.
Blinken stated that it was “Imperative to maximize humanitarian aid to Gaza”. Likewise, he called to avoid a regional conflagration and to work for a “lasting” peace and “move towards the creation of a Palestinian State.”
After Jordan, Blinken will travel to Qatar, which mediated the truce at the end of November with Egypt and the United States. He will end the day in Abu Dhabi, before heading to Saudi Arabia and Israel on Monday, where he anticipated talks that “won’t (be) easy.”
There are fears of regional contagion due to almost daily shootings between Israel and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas and based in southern Lebanon on the northern border with the Hebrew country.
Also, in Syria and Iraq, attacks on US military bases have skyrocketed in recent weeks. While in Yemen, the Houthi rebels supported by Iran multiplied their attacks on ships in the red sea in “support” for the Palestinians of Gaza.
Netanyahu said this Sunday during a Cabinet meeting that Israel is willing to resolve the conflict with Hezbollah by “political means,” but if these fail, “other means” will be resorted to, as quoted by the Spunik agency and the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
Three months of fighting
The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants and other Palestinian armed groups attacked Israeli territory. on October 7, leaving nearly 1,200 dead and about 240 kidnappeds, among them about twenty Argentines.
January 14 marks 100 days since these kidnappings and the Israeli union Histadrut announced the call for a 100-minute general strike at the request of the families of the more than 130 Israelis who are still in captivity in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel newspaper reported.
After the Hamas attack, Israel declared war and unleashed an offensive against the Gaza Strip that left at least 22,835 deadamong them women and children, according to the balance sheet of the Ministry of Health of the enclave governed by Hamas released this Sunday.
In the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, six Palestinians were killed in Jenin in a raid by Israeli troops. An Israeli police officer also died in the operation.
While, An Israeli civilian was “killed” north of the Palestinian city of Ramallahin the West Bank, the army said, adding that police were searching for the attacker.
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