As fierce fighting continues between the Israeli army and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured this Saturday that the war “will last for several more months,” without providing details on how the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip could be are released. nor specify what Israel’s post-war plan is.
“We will continue until we win. To achieve such a victory and achieve our goals, we need time,” the prime minister said at a news conference, stressing that Israel would continue its relentless bombardment until defeat. premature end or a clear outcome.
Troops are “fighting throughout the Gaza Strip” and “underground” and have “killed more than 8,000 Hamas members so far,” Netanyahu said. As he reiterated, his other priority is the release of some 129 hostages – more than a hundred considered alive and another 22 dead – in the Gaza Strip, while contacts are made for this and that through Egypt or Qatar. would include a ceasefire as these are not bearing fruit at the moment.
In this context, Netanyahu – in difficult times after the fiasco – did not foresee Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people in Israel. He asked the population for “patience” when faced with the issue of prisoners and the continuation of the war. More than 2,200 soldiers have been injured and 170 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the Gaza ground offensive began on October 27.
Another major mobilization took place in central Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon, calling on the government to step up efforts to free the hostages. “Return the hostages to Gaza as soon as possible,” demanded thousands of people, including relatives of the prisoners, who have demonstrated weekly and are increasingly impatient for the return of their loved ones.
In addition to Tel Aviv, protests also took place in other parts of Israel, with demonstrators again demanding Netanyahu’s resignation.
Fierce fighting and attacks by Israeli forces continued this Saturday in the area of the southern town of Khan Yunis, where large numbers of soldiers are expanding their army operations and have reportedly killed dozens of militiamen in recent hours.
The army, among other things, carried out an attack on what it said was the head of Hamas’ military intelligence in Khan Yunis. “And they broke into the headquarters.” of the Islamic group in the city center.
Israel is still not proposing clear scenarios for “the next day” in Gaza, although the country does not appear to have come close to achieving its main goal. Dismantle Hamas from Gaza, where its militias continue to attack and ambush Israeli forces.
So far, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will maintain security control over Gaza “indefinitely,” but has provided no details on who or how the enclave will be governed once the current offensive ends.
Currently, tents intended to house some of Gaza’s 1.9 million internally displaced people are scattered in the southern part of Rafah, where many of them are concentrated. The Gaza Strip government also estimates the population at around 800,000 people. in the north of the enclave and without access to medical care, while hospitals remain almost completely out of operation.
In an area full of shops, the Egyptian Red Crescent has set up a camp to house thousands of displaced people in the Masawi area of Khan Yunis, a scene that could become increasingly widespread across the strip in the future as destruction continues to spread. increase.
It is estimated that 70% of Gaza’s buildings and homes have been destroyed or damaged in a scenario of devastation, adding to the approximately 7,000 people believed to have died under the rubble, to the more than 21,600 confirmed Palestinian deaths, of which approximately 75% are children, women and the elderly. .
The number of wounded has exceeded 56,100 since the start of the war. According to Health, there are approximately 5,300 injured or sick people who need to be evacuated abroad “to save their lives”, but so far Egypt has rescued only 1% of the total number of wounded in Gaza.
There is also great concern about the spread of infectious diseases in Gaza. A quarter of the population – out of a total of 2.3 million – could die from infectious outbreaks within a year. This is part of the context of the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict, Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, told the British newspaper The Guardian on Saturday. (EFE)
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
