During another deployment of the Israeli army in the vicinity of the Shifa hospital in the embattled Gaza Strip, gun battles broke out with terrorists from the Islamist Hamas. During the “precise” operation, terrorists opened fire on Israeli soldiers from the hospital, the army said Monday evening. The troops returned fire and “found hits.” The army and air force operation on the grounds of the largest hospital in the closed coastal area of Gaza city continues and terrorists are arrested, the army said.
Intelligence information indicated that the hospital was being used by senior members of Hamas to carry out terrorist activities, the hospital said. Islamists are known to have regrouped there to command attacks on Israel, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said. The soldiers were ordered to proceed “with caution” and to take measures to prevent harm to patients, civilians, medical personnel and medical equipment. There is no obligation for patients and medical staff to leave the hospital. But opportunities have been created for them.
Meanwhile, Israel will participate in indirect negotiations for the first time in two weeks on a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza war. Late on Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet approved the departure of a delegation led by Mossad foreign intelligence chief David Barnea to Qatar this Monday, Israeli media reported. In the capital Doha, mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US are trying to advance recently stalled talks on a temporary ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli security cabinet only gave the delegation a general mandate, wrote well-connected Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of the news portal ‘Axios’ on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
Current developments in the live ticker:
According to Israeli officials and analysts, the threat of an impending offensive in Rafah, in the south of the closed Gaza Strip, is an important leverage for Israel in the talks, the Wall Street Journal reported. In Rafah, an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians are currently seeking protection in a confined space and in appalling conditions. Aid organizations warn of many more civilian deaths. Before his meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to a military operation in Rafah and strongly opposed an end to the Gaza war before all Israeli goals were achieved.
However, Israel has not yet deployed troops to invade the city bordering Egypt, the Wall Street Journal reported. Netanyahu’s government is in a dilemma, the newspaper quoted a military analyst from the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu could not send troops to Rafah until he had drawn up a clear evacuation plan for the people there. Action will be taken in Rafah, Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. It will take a few weeks, but it will happen. It was unclear whether he meant the Rafah operation would take place in a few weeks or would last several weeks.
Some in the international community tried to end the war before all goals were achieved, the Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu as saying. “They do this by making false accusations against the Israeli forces, against the Israeli government and against the Israeli Prime Minister,” Netanyahu added. “They do this by organizing elections now, in the middle of the war. And they do this because they know that elections now would end the war and paralyze the country for at least six months,” the newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden once again made clear that he believes an increase in humanitarian aid for the people of the Gaza Strip and an agreement on a ceasefire are urgently needed. We must also move forward with a two-state solution, which is the “only path” to lasting peace and security. This means an independent Palestinian state that coexists peacefully with Israel. Netanyahu rejects such a two-state solution, as does Hamas.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to hunt Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip. The military said it would continue to act in accordance with international law against Hamas, which systematically uses hospitals and civilian infrastructure, as it announced a renewed operation at Shifa Hospital. The US government also supported Israel’s claim that Hamas used the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip as a command center and weapons depot. The Israeli army had already entered Shifa hospital in mid-November, despite massive international criticism. The military said it had found a Hamas tunnel complex there.
Israeli military expert Miri Eisin said the destruction of the Islamists’ extensive underground tunnels could take all year, the Wall Street Journal reported. “All that is needed is an open tunnel, which we knew nothing about, so that Hamas fighters can come from the south to the north,” the former Israeli army officer told the US newspaper. The ongoing fighting gave an idea of how difficult it could be to subdue Hamas, the newspaper wrote. Hamas has lost control of much of the Gaza Strip, but continues the fight from the tunnels. The fighting would become more sporadic.
Hamas recently presented a new proposal to mediators. In it, Hamas no longer demands that Israel end the war before the first hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. Under the proposal, the Islamists would make Israel’s cessation of hostilities a condition for a second phase of hostage releases. This brought Hamas closer to the content of a multi-phase plan that the mediators had presented a few weeks ago and that Israel had accepted. Because Hamas has now moved, Israel is ready to participate in the indirect mediation talks in Qatar for the first time in two weeks. Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly.
(sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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