Two hours ago
By David Gritten, BBC News
EPA
There has been intense fighting between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces in Gaza City’s Shejaiya district
Israel’s military says Palestinian armed groups in Gaza have launched approximately 20 rockets towards Israeli border communities – the most significant such attack in months. Several of the rockets were intercepted, while others landed inside southern Israel with no reported injuries. The military responded with artillery fire.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) stated it launched the barrage in retaliation to Israeli “crimes.”
This comes as Israel issued a new evacuation order for parts of the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza. People in the area first received audio messages instructing them to leave, followed by the Israeli military posting a warning message on social media in Arabic. Witnesses report many people are already fleeing.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued for a fifth day in Shejaiya in the north of Gaza, and an Israeli soldier was killed in the southern Rafah area.
On Sunday, Israel’s prime minister mentioned its troops were involved in a “difficult fight” across the entire Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military initiated a campaign to eliminate Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, resulting in around 1,200 casualties and 251 hostages. Since then, over 37,900 people have died in Gaza, including 23 in the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Reuters
The Israeli military confirmed two soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza on Friday.
On Monday morning, sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza border fence, many of which had been evacuated since the 7 October attack.
The Eshkol Regional Council later reported that 18 rockets were launched towards areas it governs, with most landing in open areas. The Jerusalem Post stated that one rocket fell near Kibbutz Holit’s fence, and another was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
The Times of Israel reported that Monday’s barrage was the largest from Gaza since January when at least 25 rockets were launched towards the city of Netivot.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the latest rocket-fire originated from the southern Khan Younis area, and its artillery targeted the sources.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that artillery strikes on Monday killed one civilian and injured several others in the town of Khuzaa, south-east of Khan Younis.
Israeli warplanes also targeted a street in Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, and an area north of Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Wafa.
Hamas’s military wing claimed its fighters targeted two Israeli tanks with explosive devices in Shejaiya.
The IDF stated its troops had “eliminated numerous terrorists in close-quarters encounters and located large quantities of weapons” during raids in Shejaiya. Air strikes had killed about 20 others and destroyed weapons manufacturing and storage facilities in the area.
A battle has been ongoing since Thursday when Israeli troops reentered the area following intelligence indicating the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure.
Over the weekend, residents reported bodies lying in the street, while the IDF confirmed two soldiers had been killed in combat in northern Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) mentioned up to 80,000 people in Shejaiya and surrounding areas had been instructed by the IDF to evacuate and head south but were being pushed westwards due to difficulties passing through Israeli checkpoints in the Wadi Gaza area.
“The Israeli army has completely destroyed the neighborhood,” a woman from the neighboring Tuffah district stated on BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline program. “Along with others, I fled as shells rained down around us. We moved from one area to another until we managed to escape the neighborhood. But many residents were trapped and unable to leave,” she added.
“We are experiencing hunger, fear, killing, displacement, and total destruction.”
AFP
UN officials expressed concern that the humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in Gaza was becoming increasingly dire.
Palestinian fighters regrouped in several northern areas that were the main focus of the Israeli ground offensive in the initial three months of the war.
Rafah has been the primary focus since early May, and the IDF believes it has significantly reduced the capabilities of three of the four Hamas battalions in the city.
Some of the approximately 10,000 people still in the city told Reuters news agency that Israeli tanks had advanced further into western and central areas on Monday, just a day after reportedly moving within 1km (0.6 miles) of the Mediterranean coast.
The IDF announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Monday, providing no further details. Hamas earlier mentioned its fighters had destroyed a booby-trapped house in Rafah after enticing Israeli troops inside.
In another development on Monday, the head of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City was released after seven months in Israeli custody. Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya alleged he was tortured during his detention. Israel niega maltratar a los detenidos.
El domingo, el primer ministro Benjamin Netanyahu dijo en una reunión de gabinete que las fuerzas israelíes estaban operando “en todas partes de la Franja de Gaza” y matando “docenas de terroristas” todos los días.
“Esta es una lucha difícil que se libra en la superficie, a veces en combate cuerpo a cuerpo, y también debajo de la tierra”, advirtió.
“Estamos comprometidos a luchar hasta lograr todos nuestros objetivos: eliminar a Hamas, devolver a todos nuestros rehenes, garantizar que Gaza nunca más constituya una amenaza para Israel y devolver a nuestros residentes de manera segura a sus hogares”, añadió.
El director de planificación de Unrwa, Sam Rose, dijo a la BBC desde el campamento de Nuseirat que la situación humanitaria se estaba volviendo cada vez más desesperada para la población de 2.2 millones de Gaza, tres cuartas partes de la cual está desplazada.
“La gente necesita agua, la gente necesita atención médica. Está haciendo calor aquí, hay 35 grados [Celsius], el hedor de aguas residuales, la falta de instalaciones de gestión de residuos sólidos, el área se está convirtiendo básicamente en un vertedero [de basura]”, dijo.
“El combustible no está llegando en cantidades adecuadas a través de los puntos de cruce. Sin eso, los incubadores no pueden funcionar, los pozos de agua no pueden funcionar… Hacer las cosas más simples es una verdadera lucha para todos.”