Israel-Hamas war: UN says Israel’s heavy bombing leaves Gazans with few places to go
The Israeli army has begun an invasion of southern Gaza, a New York Times analysis of satellite images shows, evidence of a long-awaited operation that could decide the fate of the war with Hamas and further endanger Palestinian civilians could create.
After capturing large parts of northern Gaza since late October, Israeli forces have now advanced into the last part of the area under full Hamas control. Their action sets the stage for what is likely to be the war’s decisive battle: a showdown in Khan Younis, the south’s largest city, where Israeli officials believe Hamas’ military and political leaders have sought refuge since leaving the north. have fled.
New satellite images collected at 9 a.m. Sunday local time and analyzed by The Times showed that the Israeli army had reached a position south of Deir al Balah, about five kilometers north of the center of Khan Younis. The footage showed dozens of armored vehicles in the area and berms erected to fortify their positions, vehicles and activities, closely resembling previous Israeli operations in the north. The images also showed ruts and clearings, most likely from bulldozers.
The Israeli military declined to comment, but its generals have said in recent days that its forces were operating throughout the Gaza Strip, without clarifying what that meant.
The invasion of the south is expected to be the most intense phase of a war that is already the deadliest in the Arab-Israeli conflict since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and has caused the largest displacement of Palestinians since the wars around the country. creation of Israel in 1948.
Since October 7, when Hamas launched surprise attacks that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people — the deadliest day in Israel’s history — the airstrikes and the Israeli army’s invasion of Gaza have killed more than 15,500 people in Gaza, according to health officials .
Most of Gaza’s population is now in the south of the territory, as some 1.8 million people, or more than 80 percent of the population, have been displaced.
The invasion is expected to worsen dire living conditions in an area already badly damaged by Israeli airstrikes, hampered by frequent communications blackouts and overcrowded with displaced civilians struggling to cope with the spread of disease and shortages of water, food, fuel and medical supplies. equipment.
The high death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have sparked widespread international outrage, as well as concern among the Biden administration, Israel’s main foreign ally. US officials say they have pressured Israeli forces to act more accurately at this stage of the war to limit civilian casualties, although hundreds of people have been killed since hostilities resumed following the collapse of a weeklong ceasefire last week.
Israeli leaders say they are taking steps to reduce civilian deaths but are continuing efforts to oust Hamas to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attack.
Also on Monday, 180 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were sent to Gaza through the Rafah crossing, Israeli authorities said. The trucks carried food, water, shelter materials, medical supplies and fuel.
A year since Hamas captured Gaza from a rival Palestinian group in 2007 after winning a national electionIsrael and Hamas have fought many times – but Israel has never tried to drive Hamas out of the area. Together with Egypt, Israel imposed a crippling blockade of Gaza, restricting the entry of certain goods and the exit of most people.
But Israel largely maintained a status quo in which Hamas was allowed to retain power. That calculus changed after the October 7 attack, which prompted Israeli leaders to dismantle Hamas and destroy its leadership.
The invasion of the south adds urgency to the discussion about what Israel should do with Gaza, if and when it would conquer the entire territory.
The Israeli government says it does not want to resettle some of its citizens in Gaza, as it did between 1967 and 2005. But she has also ruled out handing the enclave to the Palestinian Authority, the body that administers parts of the occupied West Bank and which controlled Gaza before it was ousted by Hamas in 2007.