The Israeli army claims to have arrested hundreds of Palestinians suspected of being accomplices of Hamas and is interrogating them.
Israeli television channels broadcast videos on Thursday showing dozens of Palestinians in their underwear, blindfolded, under the guard of Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip, provoking heated controversy on social networks.
Among the arrested men, witnesses, journalists and relatives recognized reporter Diaa Al-Kahlout, Gaza correspondent for The New Arab media.
“We are investigating and verifying who is linked to the (Palestinian Islamist movement) Hamas and who is not”, while Israeli soldiers are tracking down “terrorists who are still hiding in (the) tunnels like cowards”, reacted the Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
Menorah with 138 branches
Israel, traumatized by the October 7 attack, began celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, on Thursday. In Tel Aviv, families and loved ones of the hostages participated in a vigil where they lit the candles of a giant menorah, or candlestick, symbolically having 138 branches.
An exhibition opened in the city on Thursday dedicated to the memory of the 364 people killed by Hamas fighters on October 7 while participating in the Tribe of Nova music festival in southern Israel.
The war has also reignited tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon, where there are daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.
The Israeli army and emergency services announced Thursday the death of an Israeli civilian, killed in northern Israel by an anti-tank missile attack claimed by Hezbollah.
Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a new warning to Hezbollah.
Health system “on its knees”
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spoke of a health system “on its knees” in the Gaza Strip, where most hospitals in the north no longer function while those in the south , overwhelmed by the influx of thousands of wounded, are on the verge of collapse.
Since October 9, Israel has imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip, which is causing serious shortages of water, food, medicine and electricity, while humanitarian aid, the entry of which is subject to fire. Israeli green, only arrives in droplets from Egypt.
Fuel, necessary to operate generators in hospitals and water desalination equipment, is also lacking.
The Israeli government, however, authorized the delivery of a “minimal supplement” of fuel to Gaza to avoid a “humanitarian collapse” and epidemics, two days after a call to this effect from the United States, its ally.
On Thursday, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said he saw “promising signs” of the “soon” opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza, which, along with the Rafah border crossing, would ensure a second access to humanitarian aid.
According to the UN, 1.9 million people, or around 85% of the population, have been displaced by the war in the Gaza Strip where more than half of the homes are destroyed or damaged.
The city of Rafah is the only place where humanitarian aid is still distributed, in limited quantities, according to the UN.
