Netanyahu’s Proclamation on Israeli-Gaza War
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expanded Israel’s aim to eliminate Hamas in a battle it says it intends to last for months by vowing to retake control of the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt.
Regarding the combat that has been going on since October 7, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas and its collaborators stormed Israel, murdering 1,200 people and taking 240 prisoners, Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday that “the war is at its height.”
He insisted that Israel should control the buffer zone known as the Philadelphi Corridor, which stretches along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
It has to be closed, it is clear that any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarization that we seek
Netanyahu
He would not provide further details, but if Israel took such a step, it would effectively reverse its 2005 disengagement from Gaza, giving Israel sole authority over the region after it had been ruled by Hamas for years.
Speaking about the buffer zone, Netanyahu stated that the Israeli military is continuing its offensive, which he reaffirmed will continue “for many more months.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH) reports that 312 Palestinians were injured and 187 Palestinians were murdered between the afternoons of December 28 and 29 only . At least 21,507 Palestinians were killed in Gaza between October 7 and December 29, according to the MoH there.
It is estimated that women and children account for 70% of those who die. More gruesome deaths are being recorded daily . There have been 55,915 Palestinian injuries as of that date. Numerous persons are reported missing, most likely buried beneath the debris and waiting for help to arrive.
After Hamas’ unexpected raid in October, Israel unleashed a full-scale assault on Gaza, forcing out almost all of its 2.3 million inhabitants and killing at least 21,672 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Thousands more are thought to have died under the debris and more than 56,000 have been injured.
The main areas of violence on Saturday, according to locals and medical personnel, were Khan Younis, al-Bureij, Nuseirat, Maghazi, and central and southern Gaza.
Senior member of the group’s armed branch, Abdel-Fattah Maali, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, according to a report released by Hamas media on Saturday. It claimed that Maali, a West Bank native, was banished to Gaza after being let free during a 2011 prisoner swap. When he was slain was not mentioned in the papers.
Israel claims that the battle in Gaza has claimed the lives of 172 of its military personnel.
Concerns have been raised that the conflict may expand throughout the region and involve militants supported by Iran that have engaged in gunfire with Israel and its American partner or targeted merchant shipping in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Israel reported success in demolishing Hamas infrastructure, including a network of tunnels located in the basement of Yahya Sinwar’s Gaza City residence. According to a military statement, troops also attacked the Islamic Jihad command center in Khan Younis and the Hamas military intelligence headquarters. They reportedly destroyed many sites, including a weapons foundry.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have vowed to destroy Israel, released statements on Saturday claiming that their militants had attacked and damaged multiple Israeli tanks and troop carriers throughout Gaza. They added that they had fired mortars into northern Gaza as well as targeting Israeli forces in Khan Younis and Al-Bureij.
Up until now, Washington has tried in vain to urge Israel to reduce the war by focusing on targeted operations against Hamas leaders and to stop what President Joe Biden has called “indiscriminate shelling.” Israel says Hamas uses people as human shields, endangering them, and has pledged to destroy the extremist organization. It is denied by Hamas.
