Israeli bombing targets the outskirts of two border towns in southern Lebanon

Israeli forces continued their strikes in the Gaza Strip during the night until dawn today (Wednesday), while Palestinian media reported that dozens were killed or wounded, in intense bombardment on the north, center and south of the Strip, according to the Arab World News Agency.

The Palestinian News and Information Agency reported that 6 people were killed and others were injured in a bombing on two houses in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, while the Palestine Today news agency reported that 7 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in the Nuseirat camp.

Also, the Palestinian News and Information Agency reported that 3 people were killed, and others were injured, in an air strike on a house in the Western Camp in Khan Yunis.

The Palestinian Agency indicated that artillery shelling continued on the neighborhoods of Al-Tuffah, Al-Daraj and Al-Shuja’iya in Gaza City, and on the east of Khan Yunis, Al-Fukhari, Khuza’a and Abasan, while it said that Israeli forces fired a barrage of phosphorus and smoke bombs towards the center of Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

The agency quoted civil defense sources as saying that a large number of dead and wounded “were buried under the rubble amid difficulties in recovering them,” noting that the death toll in the Strip since October 7 had risen to about 16,250 dead, including more than 1,240 dead since The temporary humanitarian truce ends.

The Palestinian Agency also indicated that Israeli forces arrested 35 medical workers.

On the other hand, Voice of Palestine Radio quoted the Palestinian Ministry of Health as saying that the Israeli forces did not stop bombing the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital and Jabalia Camp in the northern Gaza Strip, and reported about 70 artillery shells were fired towards the hospital last night.

Two dead in the West Bank

In the West Bank, Palestinian television reported that two people were killed by Israeli gunfire, one from the town of Tammoun and the other from Al-Faraa camp, in the Tubas Governorate in the northern West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Agency reported that Israeli forces withdrew from the city of Jenin and its camp, 9 hours after the start of an operation there during which 18 people were arrested.

The agency said that 7 Palestinians, including a woman and a girl, were injured by gunfire from the forces, which were supported by more than 40 military vehicles and bulldozers.

She explained that the forces were deployed during the incursion into the Al-Zahraa neighborhood and the Al-Dakhiliya roundabout, amid heavy firing of bullets and tear gas bombs, and launched a massive raid campaign in the city and its camp, and turned a number of homes into military points.

She said that the forces bombed a house in the Al-Saha area in the Jenin camp with a missile, which led to a fire igniting and causing serious damage to the house. It was reported that electricity was cut off in neighborhoods in the city of Jenin after forces targeted electricity transformers with bullets.

Israel cancels the visa of the UN coordinator

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced in a message published on the “X” platform today, that he had decided to cancel the residence visa of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, Lynne Hastings, due to what he said was her failure to condemn the “Hamas” movement.

“Someone who did not condemn Hamas for the brutal massacre of 1,200 Israelis, for the kidnapping of children and the elderly, for the horrific violations, and for the use of Gazans as human shields, and instead condemns Israel… cannot work at the United Nations,” Cohen said. ; He cannot enter Israel.”

For its part, the Hamas movement said in a statement that the cancellation of the UN coordinator’s residency came “because of her refusal to adopt the false occupation narrative against the (Hamas) movement.”

The movement described this measure as “a continuation of the arrogant and arrogant approach of the Zionists who are trying to impose their misleading and false narrative, to cover up the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing that they are committing against our Palestinian people.”

The movement called on the international community to “take a firm stance against the Zionist policy of blackmail and its lack of respect for international structures and figures.”

This comes at a time when Doctors Without Borders warned that the quantities of fuel and medical supplies at Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central region of the Gaza Strip had reached very low levels due to the closure of roads.

The organization said that hundreds of patients in the hospital need emergency care due to the ongoing Israeli bombing, noting that the hospital has received, on average, between 150 and 200 war-wounded daily since the beginning of this December.

The organization quoted emergency coordinator Marie Revial ​​on the “X” platform as saying that 700 patients had arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital, and that new patients were arriving all the time, and that basic supplies for their treatment had run out.

She warned that the shortage of medicines and fuel could lead to the hospital being unable to provide life-saving surgeries or intensive care, stressing the need to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian supplies.

She said that the hospital urgently needs surgical tools; It also stressed the need to lift the siege on Gaza and urgently provide medical supplies and humanitarian aid to the entire Strip.

No negotiations to release detainees

For his part, Bassem Naeem, a member of the Hamas International Relations Office, denied the existence of any negotiations or discussions regarding the release of detainees in the Gaza Strip at the present time.

Naim said in statements to the Arab World News Agency, “Israel will not obtain anything except on the conditions of resistance and on the conditions of the Palestinian people.”

While he considered that there was no space or margin left for negotiation, Naim said: “We have prisoners in Israeli prisons, and our hostages will not be released; Especially soldiers, unless our prisoners are completely released.”

He added: “Hamas made an offer to release all for all, and the offer still stands. But it is not possible to negotiate under bombardment.”

On the other hand, the American CNN network said today that American officials expect the current phase of the Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip to continue for several weeks, before its intensity declines and the focus is on Hamas militants and leaders at a later time. It is possible that By next January.

But it quoted an official in the US administration, whom it described as prominent without mentioning his name, that the US administration has concerns about what the Israeli operation will unfold in the coming weeks.

The network quoted several US administration officials as saying that the United States warned Israel in discussions it described as difficult and direct that it “cannot repeat the destructive tactics it used in the north (in the northern Gaza Strip) and that it must do more to reduce civilian deaths.” ».

She added that the United States informed Israel that world public opinion had become increasingly opposed to its operation, which led to the killing of thousands of civilians, and that the time during which it could continue as it is currently proceeding “while maintaining effective international support” was rapidly shrinking.

The network quoted a prominent American official as saying that Israel’s declared goal, which is to weaken the Hamas movement to the point that makes it unable to repeat the October 7 attack ever, is “unlikely to be achieved by the end of this year.”

The official added: “Israel is expected to continue its pursuit of this goal in the next phase of the conflict, which American officials see as a longer-term campaign.”

America fears escalation of tensions

The White House said in a statement today that Phil Gordon, National Security Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, discussed in Israel the situation in the West Bank, and expressed concern about steps that might lead to escalation of tensions, including settler violence.

The White House said in a statement that Gordon also discussed in Israel reconstruction, security and governance efforts in the Gaza Strip, after the end of the fighting there, and explained the principles established by the US administration in Gaza after the war.

Earlier today, Axios reported from two American officials that Israel is now showing greater willingness to discuss plans for Gaza after the war, and that Washington wants to avoid any vacuum in governance and security in the Strip that would allow the Hamas movement to rise again.

Gordon stressed the need for the Palestinian people to have a clear political horizon. He also affirmed commitment to the two-state solution, according to the statement, which added that he discussed US efforts to deter any aggression and help prevent regional escalation.

The White House statement indicated that Harris directed Gordon, following her meeting with Arab leaders in Dubai last Saturday, to go to Israel on the fourth and fifth of this December, to inform Israeli officials of the developments of her meetings and to continue consultations regarding the conflict with the Hamas movement.

According to Axios, the two American officials said that the administration of US President Joe Biden expressed to Israeli officials its concern about the continuation of the ground operation in southern Gaza, as happened in the northern Gaza Strip.

The two American officials pointed out that there is still a difference between the visions of the United States and Israel for Gaza after the war, especially the role that the Palestinian Authority will play.

The website quoted a prominent American official who described it as saying that there is a need to support and strengthen the Palestinian Authority, so that it can govern the Gaza Strip.

Gordon is scheduled to visit Ramallah in the West Bank today to hold meetings with officials in the Palestinian Authority, according to a White House statement.