More than 240 Palestinians were martyred within 24 hours in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip, with the occupation forces intensifying their operations, amid fears of the expansion of the conflict on other fronts, and international warnings of increasing numbers of civilian casualties.
While Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy warned that “the goals of the war are not easy to achieve,” and that it will continue “several more months,” the specter of expanding the scope of the conflict still looms on the horizon, especially with the exchange of bombings on the Israeli-Lebanese border, and the attacks launched by the Houthis in Yemen. On ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated in an article in the American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal” yesterday, that “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be disarmed, and extremism must be eradicated from Palestinian society” in order to achieve peace “with the Palestinian neighbors.”
With the passage of about 3 months since the beginning of the Israeli occupation aggression against the Gaza Strip, there have been no signs of a decline in the ground fighting, in addition to the devastating Israeli air bombardment, while 129 Israeli prisoners are still held by the resistance.
The occupation forces issued a new order to evacuate the residents of Al-Bureij camp (central) and its surroundings. A number of residents of the areas affected by the procedure fled to Rafah, where they arrived with their luggage piled on the roofs of their vehicles.
International concerns and warnings
For its part, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed “deep concern about the continuing bombing of central Gaza by Israeli forces,” adding that “all attacks must strictly comply with the principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction, proportionality and taking precautions.”
In the face of the harsh conditions experienced by the civilian population in Gaza, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus once again called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
He added that aid is still arriving in insufficient quantities, and that humanitarian efforts “do not come close to meeting the needs of the people of Gaza.”
On Tuesday evening, the United Nations announced the appointment of Dutch Minister Sigrid Kaag as Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction in Gaza, to begin her duties on January 8, following a UN Security Council resolution calling for increased aid to the Strip.
France expressed its “deep concern over the Israeli authorities’ announcement of the intensification and prolongation of the fighting in Gaza” and renewed its “call for an immediate truce leading to a ceasefire.”
Flaming fronts
On the negotiation front, the efforts of the mediators, especially Egypt and Qatar, have not yet resulted in achieving a new humanitarian truce.
Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer went to the United States, to discuss with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan the issues of war and hostages in Gaza.
On the southern front, the Houthis said on Tuesday evening that they targeted the MSC United ship with naval missiles after its crew “rejected the naval forces’ call,” as well as launching “a number of drones” at areas in southern Israel.
The Israeli army confirmed that one of its fighter planes “successfully intercepted earlier today (Tuesday) in the Red Sea region a hostile air target that was on its way to Israeli territory.”
Explosions were heard off the coast of the southern Egyptian Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, while eyewitnesses reported that they saw an object falling into the Gulf of Aqaba.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement that within 10 hours, US forces shot down a total of 12 drones, 3 anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two ground attack missiles.
On the front with Lebanon, the Israeli occupation army announced on Tuesday that 9 soldiers and a civilian were injured as a result of missiles launched by Hezbollah. It also announced launching raids and shelling with tank and artillery fire targets belonging to Hezbollah, which mourned two of its members who were killed on Tuesday by Israeli bombing.
Attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions against American forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria have also increased. The United States carried out strikes against 3 sites used by these factions in Iraq, resulting in the death of one person.
On Monday, Iran accused Israel of killing Radhi Mousavi, advisor to the Revolutionary Guard, in an air strike in Syria. Hezbollah denounced the “assassination”, while Tehran vowed to avenge his killing “at the appropriate time and place and in the manner we deem appropriate.”