The images showed dozens of armored vehicles in the area and berms erected to fortify their positions, vehicles and activities, which are very similar to previous Israeli operations in the north. The images also showed tracks most likely from bulldozers..
The Israeli army declined to comment, but its generals said in recent days that its forces were operating throughout the Gaza Strip, without clarifying what that meant..
The invasion of the south is expected to be the most intense phase of the war, which is already the bloodiest in the Arab-Israeli conflict since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which led to the largest displacement of Palestinians since the wars that surrounded the south.
Since October 7, when Hamas launched surprise attacks that Israeli officials say killed nearly 1,200 people — the deadliest day in Israel’s history — Israeli military airstrikes and the invasion of Gaza have killed more than 15,000 people, according to health officials in Gaza.
Most of Gaza’s population is now located in the south of the Strip, after nearly a million people fled there to escape the fighting in the north..
The invasion is expected to exacerbate harsh living conditions in an area already extensively damaged by Israeli air strikes, hampered by regular communications blackouts and crowded with displaced civilians suffering from widespread disease and shortages of water, food, fuel and medical equipment..
The high death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have sparked widespread international outrage, as well as concern for the administration of US President Joe Biden, Israel’s main foreign ally..
US officials say they have pressed Israeli forces to act more carefully at this stage of the war to limit civilian casualties, even though hundreds of people have been killed since hostilities resumed after the week-long truce collapsed last week..
Israeli leaders say they are taking steps to reduce civilian deaths, but are pressing ahead with their efforts to oust Hamas to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attack..
Since Hamas seized control of Gaza from a rival Palestinian group in 2007, a year after it won national elections, Israel and Hamas have repeatedly fought — but Israel has never tried to expel Hamas from the Strip, and Israel, along with Egypt, has imposed a stifling blockade of Gaza that has led to To restrict the entry of some goods and the exit of most people.
But Israel maintained the status quo, in which Hamas was allowed to retain power. This calculus changed after the October 7 attack, which prompted Israeli leaders to seek to dismantle Hamas and destroy its leadership..
The invasion of the south brings more urgency to the debate over what Israel should do with Gaza, if and when it takes control of the entire area..
The Israeli government says it does not want to resettle some of its citizens in Gaza, as it did between 1967 and 2005, but it has also ruled out handing over the Strip to the Palestinian Authority, the body that administers parts of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and which controlled the Gaza Strip before it was ousted. It has Hamas in 2007.
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Israeli forces have now advanced into the last part of the Strip that was under full Hamas control, after seizing large parts of northern Gaza since late October, and their move sets the stage for what is likely to be the decisive battle of the war in the standoff in Khan Yunis, the largest city in the south. , as Israeli officials believe that the military and political leadership of Hamas has sought refuge there since fleeing the north.
New satellite images collected at 9 a.m. Sunday local time and analyzed by The New York Times showed that the Israeli army had reached a location south of Deir al-Balah, about 3 miles north of downtown Khan Yunis..
The images showed dozens of armored vehicles in the area and berms erected to fortify their positions, vehicles and activities, which are very similar to previous Israeli operations in the north. The images also showed tracks most likely from bulldozers..
The Israeli army declined to comment, but its generals said in recent days that its forces were operating throughout the Gaza Strip, without clarifying what that meant..
The invasion of the south is expected to be the most intense phase of the war, which is already the bloodiest in the Arab-Israeli conflict since the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which led to the largest displacement of Palestinians since the wars that surrounded the south.
Since October 7, when Hamas launched surprise attacks that Israeli officials say killed nearly 1,200 people — the deadliest day in Israel’s history — Israeli military airstrikes and the invasion of Gaza have killed more than 15,000 people, according to health officials in Gaza.
Most of Gaza’s population is now located in the south of the Strip, after nearly a million people fled there to escape the fighting in the north..
The invasion is expected to exacerbate harsh living conditions in an area already extensively damaged by Israeli air strikes, hampered by regular communications blackouts and crowded with displaced civilians suffering from widespread disease and shortages of water, food, fuel and medical equipment..
The high death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza have sparked widespread international outrage, as well as concern for the administration of US President Joe Biden, Israel’s main foreign ally..
US officials say they have pressed Israeli forces to act more carefully at this stage of the war to limit civilian casualties, even though hundreds of people have been killed since hostilities resumed after the week-long truce collapsed last week..
Israeli leaders say they are taking steps to reduce civilian deaths, but are pressing ahead with their efforts to oust Hamas to prevent a repeat of the October 7 attack..
Since Hamas seized control of Gaza from a rival Palestinian group in 2007, a year after it won national elections, Israel and Hamas have repeatedly fought — but Israel has never tried to expel Hamas from the Strip, and Israel, along with Egypt, has imposed a stifling blockade of Gaza that has led to To restrict the entry of some goods and the exit of most people.
But Israel maintained the status quo, in which Hamas was allowed to retain power. This calculus changed after the October 7 attack, which prompted Israeli leaders to seek to dismantle Hamas and destroy its leadership..
The invasion of the south brings more urgency to the debate over what Israel should do with Gaza, if and when it takes control of the entire area..
The Israeli government says it does not want to resettle some of its citizens in Gaza, as it did between 1967 and 2005, but it has also ruled out handing over the Strip to the Palestinian Authority, the body that administers parts of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip and which controlled the Gaza Strip before it was ousted. It has Hamas in 2007.
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2023-12-05 05:58:22
