Waiting for Israel’s ground offensive – that’s what happened since the Conservatives came to power in New Zealand on Saturday – Hipkins was voted out

Report: Israeli army postpones ground offensive due to weather conditions

As tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip flee to the south of the territory, it is apparently taking longer for the Israeli army to launch its planned ground offensive against the Islamist Hamas. The attack was originally scheduled to begin this weekend but was postponed due to cloudy skies and resulting visibility problems for pilots and drones, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed senior Israeli officers.

The aim is to eradicate the political and military leadership of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, who carried out massacres in Israel a week ago, killing hundreds. The Bundeswehr has now flown more Germans out of the region.

Newspaper: Israel faces months of urban wars

According to the New York Times, the coming offensive risks embroiling Israel in months of bloody house-to-house fighting. Tens of thousands of Hamas fighters are believed to be holed up in bunkers and hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnel systems beneath Gaza City and surrounding parts of the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army assumes that Hamas will try to blow up tunnels under the advancing ground forces.

Worried about hostages

Hamas also plans to get behind Israeli lines through secret tunnel exits and attack from behind. Another strategic dilemma is that the terrorists can hide underground with hostages and then be difficult to eliminate, it was said.

Between 150 and 200 people are estimated to have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, Israeli security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said on Saturday. The military had previously announced that the families of about 120 hostages had been notified.

Chaos in the Gaza Strip: tens of thousands on the run – WHO warns of ‘humanitarian catastrophe’

Tens of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip are now fleeing south from the area hermetically sealed off by Israel. The Israeli army had informed of two temporary escape routes that were to be spared from attacks until Saturday afternoon. UN Secretary General António Guterres called for immediate humanitarian access.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), transferring seriously ill and injured patients is impossible. “Transporting such people is tantamount to a death sentence,” she stressed. The WHO therefore “strongly condemns” repeated Israeli calls to evacuate 22 hospitals with more than 2,000 patients in the northern Gaza Strip. The organization also pointed out that health facilities in the south of the Gaza Strip had “already reached their capacity limit.” They are unable to “handle a significant increase in the number of patients.”

The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees warned of an acute water shortage. “People, including young children, the elderly and women, will die from severe dehydration,” the organization warned.

The US moves more warships to the Middle East

The US is now moving more warships to the Eastern Mediterranean, including the aircraft carrier “USS Dwight D. Eisenhower,” the guided-missile cruiser “USS Philippine Sea,” and two destroyers. They will join the ships that have already been moved to the region, the Ministry of Defense in Washington announced on Saturday evening (local time). The warships are therefore not allowed to participate in combat operations, but rather serve as a deterrent. The White House also emphasized that it has no plans to send ground troops to Israel. (lacquer/sda/dpa)