Key Points
- Israel’s defence minister has said said Israeli soldiers are operating in the heart of Gaza City.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would seek an “indefinite” security responsibility for Gaza.
- White House spokesperson John Kirby said the US opposed a ‘reoccupation’ of Gaza by Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister: military ‘tightening the noose’ on Gaza City
“They are tightening the noose around Gaza City.”
A month since Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel, the Israeli Defence Forces have intensified aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip and launched a ground invasion. Source: Getty / Dan Kitwood
“Gaza City is encircled, we are operating inside it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement. “We are increasing pressure on Hamas every hour, every day. So far, we have killed thousands of terrorists, above ground and below ground.”
The military wing of Hamas, which has ruled the small, densely populated enclave for 16 years, said its fighters were inflicting heavy losses and damage on advancing Israeli forces. It had no immediate comment on the possible fate of Sinwar. It was not possible to verify the battlefield claims of either side.
“It has been one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair,” UN Human Rights Commissioner Volcker Turk said in a statement at the start of a trip to the region.
Israel, which is trying to clear out Gaza City, gave residents a window from 10am to 2pm (local time) on Tuesday to leave for the southern part of the 45km-long Gaza Strip.
“The most dangerous trip in my life. We saw the tanks from point blank (range). We saw decomposed body parts. We saw death,” resident Adam Fayez Zeyara posted with a selfie of himself on the road out of Gaza City.
Attacks continue on southern Gaza
“We are civilians,” said Ahmed Ayesh, who was rescued from the rubble of a house in Khan Younis where health officials said 11 people had been killed. “This is the bravery of the so-called Israel – they show their might and power against civilians, babies inside, kids inside, and elderly.”
People search through buildings that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Source: Getty / Ahmad Hasaballah
Both Israel and Hamas have rebuffed calls for a halt in fighting. Israel . Hamas says it will not free them or stop fighting while Gaza is under attack.
Netanyahu signals ‘security responsibility’ in Gaza
Gallant, however, said that after the war was finished, neither Israel nor Hamas would rule Gaza.
White House says it does not support ‘reoccupation’ of Gaza
Kirby also flagged that Hamas “cannot be part of the equation” about Gaza’s administration.
Humanitarian convoy comes under fire
Two trucks were damaged and a driver was lightly wounded, the organisation said. It said the convoy included five trucks and two ICRC vehicles and was carrying “lifesaving medical supplies to health facilities including to Al Quds hospital of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, when it was hit by fire.” The group did not identify the source of the fire.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza. Source: Getty / Ahmad Hasaballah
After the incident, the convoy altered its route and reached al-Shifa hospital where it delivered the medical supplies, ICRC said. The ICRC convoy then accompanied six ambulances with critically wounded patients to the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt, the group said.
ICRC, a neutral organisation based in Geneva, has escorted patients and transported freed hostages out of Gaza.
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