Inferno of fire also in the city of Deir Al Ballah, where many civilians from the north have sought refuge
The danger of a generalizing war in the Middle East is more visible than ever, as Israel openly warns Lebanon that it will intervene if Hezbollah attacks from its soil continue. In Gaza, the death toll from the attacks of the Israeli army continues, while on the Israeli side, the singer who was meant to represent the country at Eurovision was killed.
Chaos and pandemonium ensued following Israeli shelling near Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis. Lifeless bodies lie on the road. Ambulances are carrying injured people, among them many children. According to the Hamas Health Ministry, at least dozens of people were killed by Israeli army strikes in Beit Lahia, Maghazi and Khan Yunis
As a citizen stated: "We were sitting and eating when something started to fall on our heads. There were no Hamas fighters among us, if they say so. I wish we hadn't come (to Khan Younis), we had stayed in Gaza City. There are wounded there, there are wounded here too."
Inferno of fire also in the city of Deir Al Ballah, where many civilians from the north have sought refuge. Rescuers and residents are trying to put out the flames after the Israeli strikes, while searching for survivors and victims under the rubble. The Israeli army is intensifying its operations in central and southern Gaza.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said: "Our forces are fighting in several areas in central Gaza. In Al Buraij, the camp area, where we are operating for the third day there, killing many terrorists and destroying their infrastructure. The second front is Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
With only 13 hospitals underperforming in Gaza, the World Health Organization is once again calling on the international community to take urgent measures to relieve Palestinian civilians, who are facing serious injuries, famine and epidemics. The United Nations is talking about almost two displaced persons. Among them is the 29-year-old Palestinian woman who gave birth to quadruplets in the middle of the war. She was forced to leave the hospital before she even recovered, leaving behind one of her newborn children. As he stated: “They are very thin. It's cold and humid. There is no bathtub to bathe them in. There are no diapers and baby food. I'm trying to breastfeed them, but I'm not getting enough nutrition to be able to breastfeed them."
After the barrage of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah in northern Israel, the concern about an extension of the war is intensifying. Israel's military says it is preparing for an escalation of clashes with pro-Iranian rebels of the Shiite group and warns Lebanon that it will open a new front if attacks along the border do not stop.
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz said: "The situation on Israel's northern border requires change. Time for a diplomatic solution is running out. If the people and the government of Lebanon do not act to stop the fire against the people of northern Israel and remove Hezbollah from the border, the Israeli army will act."
An Iraqi armed group that supports Hamas has claimed responsibility for a drone strike in an area in the Golan Heights. At the same time, Emmanuel Macron called for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during his telephone conversation with the Israeli prime minister.
"Surgical" operations
The third phase of the war is launched by Israel, at a time when clashes are raging throughout Gaza. Israeli military operations are ongoing throughout the Gaza Strip, from North to South. The intensity of the bombardments in the centers around Deir al-Bala, with a focus on the refugee camps, where dozens of deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.
But even inside Gaza City, the army continues to clash with what it believes to be the last Battalion of Hamas in at least two districts.
In the midst of these fierce conflicts, Israel's War Council received approval from the enlarged Security Council to proceed from the Second to the third Phase of the War.
The planning for Phase III envisions a transition from mass attacks to more limited, "surgical" operations in southern Gaza.
A transition deemed necessary due to the huge number of people who have moved to the South. Large-scale attacks under these conditions would cause a dramatic death toll and obviously strong international criticism. Exactly when Phase Three will begin is a decision of the War Council, and reports say the transition is still several weeks away. It is considered certain that Israel will try to use up any window of time to deliver massive blows to Hamas before changing its war strategy.
Meanwhile the tension on the border with Lebanon is increasing and the risk is to see a serious escalation on the northern front.
Source: ertnews.gr