On Monday, the Israeli army pushed deep into the ruins of Gaza’s northern edge to recapture an area where they had claimed to have defeated Hamas months ago, while at the opposite end of the enclave, tanks and troops forced across a highway into Rafah.
On both the northern and southern edges of Gaza, intense fighting is taking place. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have again fled the place.
Israel described its latest return to the north as part of a “mop-up” stage of the battle to stop fighters from returning. The country said such operations had always been part of its plan.
The Israeli army is aiming to wipe out Hamas. The militant group burst into Israel on Oct. 7, butchering 1,200 and taking more than 250 prisoners, by Israeli tallies.
Palestinian death toll
According to Gaza health officials, the Palestinian death toll in the battle has now surpassed 35,000. The officials fear many more bodies are lost under the rubble.
Locals said Israeli air and ground bombardments were increasing and tanks had cut off the main north-south Salahuddin Road that divides the eastern part of the city from the central area.
UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza, assessed that nearly 360,000 people had fled the southern city since the Israeli army gave its first evacuation order a week ago.
Recently, US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu had engaged in discussions, particularly concerning the potential for an Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, reported the Associated Press. The United States had expressed strong opposition to such a move on humanitarian grounds.