past Israeli military attacks on aid workers Relations between the Biden administration and Netanyahu’s government, which has continuously supplied weapons to Israel throughout the war, are strained.
After nine months of fighting, with more than one million civilians taking refuge in tents to escape the summer heat, aid groups describe Gaza as one of the most dangerous places in the world to work. Famine is looming. According to a UN-backed assessmentThe Israeli Health Ministry said on Friday it had detected a strain of poliovirus in sewage in the Gaza Strip amid a growing health crisis.
The Israeli army on Monday ordered troops to withdraw from areas it had previously designated safe zones for civilians and said it was planning operations against Hamas fighters who were using the area as a place to fire rockets into Israel. In a statement, Hamas’ military wing said it had opened fire on three Israeli tanks and a bulldozer in the Bani Suhayla neighborhood of Khan Yunis, suggesting heavy fighting was taking place.
The areas in question include eastern Khan Yunis, part of the humanitarian area that includes Mawashi, where the Israeli army estimates some 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced, with families crowded together so tightly that tents stretch all the way to the coastline.
Images from inside the Gaza Strip showed thousands of people clutching their belongings as they pushed through crowded streets and debris to flee the area where Israel said it would soon launch military action.
Iman al-Zeer, a 34-year-old mother of four who could be reached by phone in the Khan Yunis neighbourhood, which was under evacuation order, said she was unable to leave because of heavy firing.
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Gaza’s Health Ministry said 70 people had been killed and 200 injured by Monday. The local Civil Defense said a paramedic was injured while trying to rescue the injured at the Bani Suhaila crossing.
Zeal said she could hear heavy artillery and airstrikes nearby. “We could hear the screams of people fleeing,” she said. “Every time we try to move, they shoot at us. It’s impossible to move because we have to walk towards Bani Suhaila.”
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides support to Palestinian refugees, said on Monday that one of his convoys had been fired upon by Israeli forces a day before it had begun its journey into the war-scarred northern Palestine region, awaiting Israeli army permission.
“The teams were traveling in UN armoured vehicles and were wearing UN vests. One vehicle was hit by at least five bullets,” Lazzarini said in the message. Post to X“Those responsible must be held accountable.”
The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment on the incident. UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Waterridge said she happened to be sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was hit by gunfire. Bullets appeared to have come from the IDF’s area of operations in the east, Waterridge said, leaving shrapnel in the back seat.
“We were very lucky there was no one in the back seat. Gaza Strip “There was no one in the back seat, but it can’t be down to luck,” she said.
She added that there were no visible military targets in the area and that a volley of bullets erupted after a displaced Palestinian mother, who was walking in the scorching heat with her baby in her arms and her three young children behind her, passed by her car.
“They were there just a moment ago,” Waterridge said. “They would have been at the forefront of the attack, but for what purpose?”
More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s military operations began. Gaza Ministry of HealthIt did not distinguish between civilians and combatants and said the majority of the dead were women and children.
Tensions between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden have worsened significantly in recent months, with Israel refusing to comply with repeated requests from the White House to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and to strengthen protections for civilians. 2,000 pound bomb In May, it warned Israel over its use in populated areas.
Israeli military officials say the most violent phase of the war with Hamas is nearing an end. But Palestinian and foreign medical workers on the ground in Gaza say they have seen a sharp increase in mass casualty attacks by Israeli forces in recent weeks. Aid groups say the toll is outstripping hospitals’ capacity, and they are barely able to cope with the high number of unhealed wounds they were treating from previous attacks.
Analysts see the change as part of an Israeli strategy to pressure Hamas in ongoing diplomatic talks aimed at a ceasefire and the release of more than 100 people. hostage The group remains on the agenda, with U.S.-backed talks in Cairo reportedly gaining momentum and the Biden administration pressuring a reluctant Netanyahu, who denies allegations that he is sabotaging the talks, to accept a deal.
Netanyahu has been accused of prolonging the war for his own political gain, a charge he denies, and is adamant that Israel must fight until Hamas is destroyed, a goal set by his own generals. I said it’s impossible to achieve.
Before Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, U.S. administration officials denied that Netanyahu had been significantly emboldened by his criticism of the president’s job performance, but acknowledged that he had hardened his stance as Biden’s problems mounted. Diplomats familiar with the discussions said Netanyahu had made last-minute demands in recent days that U.S. negotiators worried could derail the Cairo talks.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Monday that two more hostages, Alex Dansig, 76, and Yagev Bukshtab, 35, had been killed in the Gaza Strip. “The circumstances of the deaths of the two men held captive by Hamas are being investigated by all relevant specialized agencies,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said. “The IDF and other security services will continue to provide support to the hostages’ families as needed.”
The Hostage Families Forum, a group representing the families of more than 250 hostages kidnapped by Hamas and other militant groups on October 7, described the news as “devastating.” It said Bukhshtab was “a humble, unassuming man who loved life on the kibbutz from which he was taken.” “The hostages held with him… [Dancyg] During his captivity he spent his time giving history lectures to other POWs.”
“The deaths of prisoners are a tragic reflection of the delays in the negotiations. We reiterate our call on the Israeli government and its leaders to ratify the agreement immediately.”
Here’s what else you need to know:
- Israeli athletes at the Paris Olympics will be provided with 24-hour protection. “The Israeli delegation is not welcome at the games, and we are calling for protests against the athletes,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday..
- The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police said Monday that a Canadian attempted to carry out a stabbing attack in southern Israel, near the Gaza border. The suspect, who police described as a Muslim from Canada who was visiting Israel as a tourist, was neutralised by emergency response teams after he was allegedly making the threats.
- At least 39,006 people have died and 89,818 People injured in Gaza since the war began, Said The Gaza Health Ministry did not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but said the majority of the dead were women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, including more than 300 soldiers. 326 soldiers They have been killed since the start of the military operation in Gaza.
Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv and Steve Hendricks in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
