Israel storms Nasser’s compound in search of “kidnapped people” and carries out arrest campaigns
The Israeli army stormed Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Yunis, on Saturday, and arrested more than 100 Palestinians from inside it, in a pivotal development at the height of the Israeli attack on the city, before expanding the operation to the border city of Rafah, the last stronghold of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, which has become a haven. For about one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said that special forces soldiers arrested more than 100 “suspects” at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, while they continued searches at the medical center. The army added that soldiers from the Magellan and Egoz units also killed a number of Hamas members on the outskirts of the hospital.
Israeli army forces entered the building after surrounding it for a week, claiming that they had information that hostages were being held there and that some of the bodies of the dead hostages might still be present at the site.
According to Israeli media, extensive searches are underway inside the medical complex.
Palestinians participate in the funeral of the victims of the Israeli bombing in front of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah on Saturday (AP)
Controlling the Nasser complex was one of the goals of the Israeli army in Khan Yunis since the beginning of its ground attack there many weeks ago.
The Israeli army hopes to reach in Khan Yunis those responsible for the October 7 attack, namely Yahya Al-Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, who broadcast a video clip of him in one of the city’s tunnels, and Muhammad Al-Deif, the commander-in-chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, in addition to Other leaders also hope to reach detainees, whether alive or dead.
As fighting continued in Khan Yunis, the Israeli army said that forces led by the 7th Armored Brigade raided several compounds and found weapons including explosive devices, grenades and rifles.
Forces in the area also called in several air strikes on Hamas forces, and killed cell members in close-range combat.
Israel intensified its ground attack in Khan Yunis, simultaneously with the intensification of its air attack in the central Gaza Strip.
Medical officials said that Israel killed at least 40 Palestinians in a series of raids on citizens’ homes in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldiers during clashes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday (Israeli Army – Reuters)
In return, the Palestinian factions confirmed that they continued to target soldiers in the incursion areas, and destroyed Israeli tanks and vehicles.
The Palestinian factions launched a missile from Gaza towards Ashkelon, but it was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
The Israeli army said, “In less than 30 minutes, the perpetrator of the launch was spotted in the Al-Furqan area in the northern Gaza Strip, where an Air Force aircraft targeted and liquidated him.”
Rocket firing has largely declined from the Gaza Strip.
Israel says it killed more than 10,000 Hamas fighters, destroyed its military structure in the northern and central Gaza Strip, and most of its forces in Khan Yunis, and destroyed its missile system.
However, Al-Qassam spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said on Friday that the Palestinian Brigades and resistance continue to confront the occupation army and inflict heavy losses on its ranks. He added: “Our mujahideen destroy the occupation’s vehicles and armored vehicles, attack its heavily armed soldiers supported by tanks, planes, and warships. They place them in precise ambushes, hunt down their officers in professional sniping operations, and attack flocks of their soldiers from zero distance.”
He added: “Whenever the enemy thinks he is safe in a scorched area of the land, Mujahideen come out from nowhere to carry out specific operations.”
Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip was subjected to more Israeli raids on Saturday (EPA)
Al-Qassam spokesman confirmed that “the Phalange fighters are fighting heroic battles in all areas of the incursion into the north, center and south of the Gaza Strip, and are confronting the invading forces with different tactics according to field estimates in which the type of weapons and the nature of the attacks are determined in each operation in order to inflict certain losses on the ranks of the forces.” Occupation”.
He stressed that thousands of Qassam fighters in various combat zones are on constant alert.
The Israeli army acknowledged that there were more losses among its ranks. On Saturday, the army announced that two soldiers from the Magellan unit were seriously injured during battles in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army also announced that the number of its deaths since the beginning of the war reached 573, while 2,918 others were injured.
The Israelis are preparing to attack Rafah after the end of the fighting in Khan Yunis, but it is a task that appears complicated with increasing pressure on Israel to avoid that.
The world fears that an Israeli attack on Rafah, where about a million and a half Palestinians live, the vast majority of whom are displaced, will be disastrous and cause massacres, bloodbaths, and more dangerous repercussions on the region.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Saturday that the intense Israeli air strikes on Rafah are pushing displaced people to flee to the central Gaza Strip.
The UN agency added in its account on the X platform that “violent fighting is taking place in and around Khan Yunis.” Thousands fled south to Rafah, which already houses 1.4 million people. The intense air strikes on Rafah also led to people fleeing from Rafah to central Gaza.”
The agency noted that “the residents of northern Gaza are on the brink of famine and there is no refuge for anyone.”
UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini also confirmed that the Gaza Strip is already suffering from a major disaster, noting that the residents have lost everything, according to the Arab World News Agency.
Lazzarini said that replacing UNRWA was short-sighted and entailed “serious and enormous consequences.”
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2024-02-17 18:52:23
