Hamas attacks Gaza in face of US warning

 

At a point in southern Israel on Monday, Israeli army battle tanks moved close to the Gaza Strip border, in the midst of the ongoing confrontation between Israel and the Hamas movement in Palestinian territory.

On Monday, Israel engaged Hamas in combat in Gaza, including the heavily populated southern city of Rafah, in defiance of US warnings against a full-scale invasion and the possibility of "anarchy" following the war throughout the Palestinian enclave. After more than seven months of fighting since Hamas's October 7 invasion, Israel had a solemn Memorial Day, which is followed by Independence Day on Monday night. Clashes broke out in both northern and central Gaza at this time.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, "Our war of independence is not over yet," as the country observed a moment of sadness. We still have a strong desire to prevail in this battle.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, "Our war of independence is not over yet," as the country observed a moment of sadness. We still have a strong desire to prevail in this battle. Helicopter strikes and intense artillery fire were reported by AFP correspondents in Gaza, along with fighting in the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Last week, Israel sent tanks and troops east of Rafah, the city on the Egyptian border where around 1.4 million Palestinians had taken refuge, defying several warnings, including those from Washington, its closest friend. Around 3,60,000 Palestinians have left Rafah as a result of this, according to UNRWA, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, which issued a warning that "no place

According to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, this has caused some 3,60,000 people to leave Rafah so far. The organization issued a warning, stating that "no place is safe" in the mostly destroyed region. Speaking on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington was "against seeing a plan for what happens the day after this war in Gaza ends" and that Washington had not seen any serious Israeli plan to protect people in Rafah. "Israel could potentially inherit an insurgency with a large number of armed Hamas remaining, or if it ends, a vacuum filled with chaos, anarchy, and likely Hamas refilled," he told NBC.

Months after Israel proclaimed that Hamas's leadership structure had been destroyed, fighting has broken out in northern Gaza, where an Israeli army official claimed that Hamas was making "attempts to rebuild its military capabilities." One displaced Palestinian, Umm Adi Nassar, told reporters after landing in Gaza City, "The army threw leaflets and sent a message on mobile phones warning everyone to leave Jabalia' refugee camp." She said, "This is not the first time we have been moved." "Every time we attempt to settle down and return, there is an invasion operation, and the army bombs the houses with its tanks and jets, killing people." The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, also claimed that its fighters were fighting on the ground in Rafah and Jabalia.

At least four individuals were slain in a midnight attack on a Rafah home, according to the Kuwaiti hospital in the city. further individuals left their houses in Rafah on Monday after receiving further evacuation orders via text messages and phone calls, according to witnesses. Although the New York Times quoted unidentified US officials as claiming that both US and Israeli information showed that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was not hiding in Rafah, Israel has pledged to kill any remaining Hamas soldiers there. According to the publication, Sinwar, who has been missing since the incident on October 7 that Israel claims he planned, "most likely never left the tunnel network" beneath Khan Yunis, the main city of southern Gaza.

Amid the fighting, Egyptian, Qatari and US mediation efforts towards a truce appeared to have stalled.

 UN chief Antonio Guterres urged 'an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid' into Gaza.

 As Israel marked its Memorial Day, sirens sounded across the country at 11:00am (0800 GMT), prompting a two-minute silence in honor of fallen soldiers and civilian victims of attacks.

 Memorial Day comes ahead of the country's 76th Independence Day, beginning Monday at sunset, when Israelis celebrate the creation of their state in 1948.

 Palestinians remember Israel's establishment as the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were expelled or pushed out of their homes amid the war, and commemorate it annually on May 15.

 The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

 Militants also seized some 250 hostages, scores of whom were freed during a week-long truce in November.  Israel estimates 128 captives remain in Gaza, including 36 the military says are dead.

 Israel's bombardment and offensive in Gaza have killed at least 35,091 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

 Israel's military says 272 soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground offensive in Gaza on October 27.

 The war has displaced most Gazans, many times.

 UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Sunday that Israel's latest evacuation orders were 'forcing people in Rafah to flee anywhere and everywhere'.

 Umm Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, who has had to move her family seven times to escape the fighting, said: 'We have reached a point where we wish for death.'

 Residents were told to head to the Al-Mawasi 'humanitarian zone' on the coast northwest of Rafah, although aid groups have warned it is not ready for an influx of people.

 The Rafah gate with Egypt has remained blocked since Israeli troops took control of its Palestinian side last Tuesday, according to Hisham Adwan, spokesman for the Gaza crossings authority, who stated on Sunday that this is "preventing the entry of humanitarian aid."  Due to violence that has stopped gasoline imports through important crossings, the health ministry declared on Monday that Gaza's healthcare system was "hours away" from collapsing.  As "part of the effort to increase aid routes," the Israeli military announced on Sunday that it has established a new border crossing into the northern area of ​​Gaza.