Oct 30, 2023 at 9:15 PM Update: 39 minutes ago
NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. In this overview: the Israeli army continues to carry out air strikes on Gaza. At the same time they carried out ground operations and a soldier was freed from the hands of Hamas.
Developments in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are following each other in rapid succession. We therefore regularly list recent events. Subscribe to the tag ‘Gaza conflict update’ to receive a notification when we post another overview.
The Israeli army (IDF) says it rescued an Israeli soldier from Hamas on Sunday night. It is said to be Ori Megidish, who was rescued from Gaza during a ground operation.
The woman is said to be in good health and is now with her family, reports said The Times of Israel. The woman would provide a lot of information to the IDF, an army spokesperson told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Hamas has taken more than two hundred people hostage. Four people have been released so far. As far as we know, this is the first time that the Israeli army has freed someone.
Israel’s ground operations have expanded since Friday evening. Israeli forces have maintained a continuous presence in Gaza since then. They would fight Hamas fighters and shell the group’s tunnels and infrastructure. Dozens of Palestinian militants are said to have been killed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the “second phase of the war” has begun. “The armed forces are making systematic progress step by step.”
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Israel: Bombed more than six hundred targets in one day
The IFD says it has hit more than six hundred targets in the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. This is one of the heaviest bombings to date. Weapons depots and dozens of launch positions for Hamas anti-tank missiles, among others, were bombarded.
An ambulance was also destroyed in a bombing in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The aid organization has a messaging service X shared photos showing the broken vehicle. In addition, several warehouses were severely damaged.
According to Hamas, more than eight thousand Palestinians have been killed, including more than 3,400 children. Those numbers cannot be independently verified.
In Rafah, aid workers help search for survivors under the rubble. Photo: AFP
IDF blocks Gaza main road
The IDF has closed a major highway from North to South Gaza with tanks, eyewitnesses told news agency AFP. According to them, cars trying to drive on the road are shot at by the army.
“We are gradually progressing according to plan,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told the press on Monday morning. But he did not want to say anything about the tanks on the main road.
Hagari declined to confirm the location of the ground forces after images of advancing tanks on a main road in Gaza emerged on social media. He did say that soldiers are stationed along the northern border of the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu refuses ceasefire
Israel rules out any ceasefire with Hamas. According to Netanyahu, a ceasefire in the war means a surrender to Hamas.
“Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas. That will not happen,” the president said at a news conference in Tel Aviv.
He called on the international community to join his country in demanding the “immediate and unconditional” release of the hostages held in Gaza.
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Israel distributes images of tanks in Gaza Strip
More aid to Gaza, but also a lot of looting
In between the bombings, aid is still being delivered to the people in Gaza in every possible way. This is currently only possible via the border crossing at Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, 45 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies from Egypt crossed the border. This brings the total number of vehicles to 150. That help is not enough.
The US is said to have exerted pressure to restore the internet in Gaza. “We made it clear to the government of Israel over the weekend that communications networks needed to be restored,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Thousands of people have looted UN warehouses and distribution centers. That looting makes it difficult to distribute resources. “Hundreds of people are trying to steal flour,” Tom White, director of refugee organization UNWRA, told the news agency Reuters. “People are in survival mode and desperate for food and water.”
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The conflict explained
2023-10-30 20:15:00
#Israel #continues #bomb #Gaza #liberates #Hamas #militarily
