Israel reports encirclement of Khan Yunis – the night update The power of water

The Israeli army says it has now surrounded the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip and surrounded the home of the Gaza leader of the Islamist Hamas. Jihia al-Sinwar could escape, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening, “but it is only a matter of time before we find him.” As the bitter urban war continues in Khan Yunis, considered a Hamas stronghold, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a rare move, called on the UN Security Council to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal region.

Guterres again calls for a ceasefire

“I reiterate my call for a humanitarian ceasefire. This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared greater suffering,” he wrote to the Security Council on Wednesday, citing Article 99 of the UN Charter. This allows the Secretary General to draw the attention of the Security Council to “any matter which, in his opinion, may endanger the guarantee of international peace and security” and which the UN says has not been used for decades.

Israel allows more fuel for Gaza

Given the suffering of the civilian population, international criticism of the actions of the Israeli army is growing. Israel is now allowing more fuel to be imported into the south of the Gaza Strip. The Security Cabinet approved a recommendation from the War Cabinet on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu’s office said. An increase in the minimum allowable quantity is necessary “to prevent a humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics,” the report said. It was initially unclear by how much the amount of fuel that could be brought into the Gaza Strip each day would need to be increased.

Israel: Defense line around Khan Yunis breached

Meanwhile, the Israeli army reported a breakthrough through Hamas defenses in the town of Khan Yunis in the evening. The soldiers have now launched attacks on central terrorist positions and are now advancing deeper into the city, where Sinwar’s house is also located. Sinwar is not above ground, but underground, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday evening. From Israel’s perspective, however, the renovation of his house shows that the army can reach anywhere in Gaza.

Experts suspect that the Hamas leadership and thousands of its members may have holed up in an extensive network of tunnels. It is believed that many of the hostages still held are there too. Since the terrorist attack by Hamas and other groups on Israeli territory on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people, Sinwar has topped Israel’s hit list.

If the Israeli government can announce the death of Sinwar and other Hamas leaders, “it would be able to capitalize enormously and claim that its military objectives have been achieved,” said Hugh Lovatt of the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations in Wall StreetJournal. ». This could help ‘create the conditions for an end to the war’.

Israel again sharply criticizes Guterres

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister has again criticized UN Secretary General Guterres. “His request to activate Article 99 and the call for a ceasefire in Gaza represent support for the terrorist organization Hamas,” Eli Cohen said of X. “Anyone who supports world peace should support the liberation of Gaza from Hamas .” Guterre’s tenure endangers world peace.

An appeal to the article has no direct consequences. However, the Security Council is expected to meet this week, a spokesperson said. Guterres had repeatedly highlighted the more precarious situation of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip. According to eyewitness accounts, thousands of families from Khan Yunis fled to Al-Mawasi. There too there was a lack of food, water and shelter. “There is no ‘safe’ zone. The entire Gaza Strip has become one of the most dangerous places in the world,” the United Nations Palestine Relief Agency (UNRWA) said on X.

The next phase of fighting in the Gaza Strip threatens to drive tens of thousands of civilians to Rafah near the Egyptian border, Wall Street reported on Wednesday evening (local time). Egypt has strengthened security barriers on the border with the Gaza Strip. The port city of Al Arish, about an hour’s drive west of Rafah, was also closed. This has become a collection point for humanitarian aid supplies for the Gaza Strip.

Houthi rebels are also attacking Israel directly

Meanwhile, Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen also say they have attacked areas in Israel. “A payload of ballistic missiles” was fired at several military targets in southern Israel, the Iranian-backed rebels said Wednesday evening. The attacks “against the Israeli enemy” would continue “until the aggression against our brothers in Gaza ends,” the report said. Israeli ships would also not be allowed to sail in the Red Sea for that long.

What will be important on Thursday

The door-to-door war in Khan Yunis continues. The humanitarian situation of hundreds of thousands of civilians is becoming increasingly precarious. Representatives from Brussels and Beijing are now meeting in the Chinese capital for the EU-China summit. It should also be about the Gaza war. (sda/dpa)