While dozens of militants and two Israeli soldiers died in “fierce face-to-face clashes” during the fifth day of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group Hamas accused Israel of causing “a massacre” following the death of dozens of people in a bombing in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of the Palestinian enclave. “Many are still under the rubble,” said the director of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, after giving a toll of at least 50 dead, while a Hamas spokesman denounced the impact of “six American-made bombs.” ” in an attack also condemned by Egypt and Jordan.
The Israeli army admitted this attack, but assured that the target reached was “the terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Central Jabalia Battalion of Hamas, killing its commander Ibrahim Biari, responsible for sending terrorists in the bloody attacks of October 7, and at least 50 terrorists.” “The action caused the collapse of Hamas’ underground military infrastructure under the buildings. Hamas continues to use civilians as human shields,” accused military spokesman Daniel Hagari, who again called on the inhabitants of northern Gaza to move to the south “for their own safety.”
For the first time in the war that began with the jihadist attack on its southern towns, Israel resorted this Tuesday to its most sophisticated defensive shield (JETZ) to intercept an Iranian ballistic missile fired by the Yemeni Houthis against Eilat. “We have launched missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles into the occupied territory. This is the third operation in support of our brothers and we will continue until the end of the Israeli aggression in Gaza,” announced a spokesman for the pro-Iran militia almost 2,000 kilometers away. in a message in Arabic that ended with a word in Hebrew: “To hell.”
From Yemen (the Houthis) to Lebanon (Hizbullah) through Iran, The region follows in detail every step of the Israeli ground offensive. Tanks, armored cars and bulldozers advance slowly under the massive fire shield of the Air Force. Soldiers on the ground and pilots in the air attacked tunnels, explosives depots and anti-tank missile positions that swell Hamas’ defensive lines.
The secrecy regarding the location of the forces is shared by both parties. While the army shrouds the incursion that began on Friday in nebulous secrecy, limiting itself to admitting the “high price” that it can entail for its soldiers and reporting the objectives, Hamas has asked the Palestinians not to release images of its troops and soldiers to Maintain the surprise factor.