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Israel said its fighter jets killed a Hamas leader in an attack on a refugee camp in Gaza with a lot of people. The attack also killed at least 50 Palestinians as fighting got worse in the enclave, which is running out of food, fuel, and supplies.
In the fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, 11 Israeli soldiers were also killed. This was the most troops killed in one day since Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 300 soldiers and about 1,100 civilians.
The Israeli Army Radio said that most of the people who died were infantrymen whose car was hit by an anti-armor missile. Witnesses say that shelling and air strikes happened over Gaza again last night.
After weeks of airstrikes, Israel sent its troops into Gaza to defend itself against the attack by Iran-backed Hamas. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said that airstrikes on Jabalia, Gaza’s largest refugee camp, killed Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander that the IDF said was “pivotal” in planning and carrying out the attack.
An IDF spokesman said that dozens of Hamas fighters were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari and died when it fell during the attack. He also said that the IDF was looking into deaths of civilians.
“I’ll do anything to get rid of Hamas for good.” That is what I promise to do. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Defense Minister, told reporters on Wednesday, “That is the war for the future of Israel or nothing less.” “Hamas terrorists have two options – either be killed or surrender without conditions.”
Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said that no top commander was in the camp and that the Israelis were just using the claim as an excuse to kill civilians. Health officials in Palestine said that at least 50 people were killed and 150 were hurt.
A statement from Hamas said that 400 people were killed and hurt in Jabalia, which is home to families who fled wars with Israel starting in 1948.
Big craters were made by the blast, and houses were destroyed all around them. Israel told people in Gaza many times to leave the northern areas, and while many did go south, many stayed.
After the Hamas attack, Israel surrounded Gaza. The U.N. and other aid groups said that the situation for civilians in the enclave was a public health disaster, with hospitals having trouble treating patients because they didn’t have enough power.
Palestine Telecom, Gaza’s biggest phone company, said that all internet and phone services were cut off in the region again on Wednesday.
There were at least three deaths in the West Bank during an Israeli military operation, according to Mahmoud Al-Saadi, the head of the Red Crescent.
GAZA IS FACING A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS
A group of anti-war protesters in Washington, D.C., raised their red-stained hands to stop a hearing in Congress about giving Israel more aid. Some of the things they yelled were “Ceasefire now!” “Protect the children of Gaza!” along with “Stop funding genocide.” Capitol cops took them out of the room.
Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza, said that the generators in the Al Shifa Medical Complex and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza will run out of fuel in a few hours. He asked the owners of gas stations in the area to get fuel to the two hospitals as soon as possible if they could.
Following the attack on Jabalia, Reuters was able to see dozens of white-draped bodies stacked against the side of the Indonesian Hospital.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, the armed side of Hamas, said in a video on the Telegram app on Tuesday that the group has told mediators it will soon free some of the 200 or so foreign prisoners it held during the attack on Israel. He didn’t say how many prisoners were being held or what country they were from.
In the meantime, on Tuesday, the families of Israelis killed in the attack on October 7 asked the International Criminal Court to look into the killings and kidnappings. Israel is not a member of the court in The Hague and does not accept its authority.
“PROGRESS” ON GIVERS’ SAFE PASSAGE
Matt Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said that talks to secure a safe route for Americans and other foreigners who want to leave Gaza have made “real progress” in the last few hours.
The department of state said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with government officials in Israel on Friday and then make other stops in the area.
Blinken said on Tuesday that the US and other countries were thinking about “a variety of possible permutations” for what would happen to Gaza after Hamas militants are removed from power.
Israel has promised to destroy Hamas after several failed wars that began when the terrorist group took over Gaza in 2007. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down calls from other countries for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting so that emergency aid could be sent to civilians.
There have been talks between the US, Qatar, and Egypt to open the Rafah crossing into Egypt. A group in charge of the Palestinian border said that Egypt would let 81 Gazans in on Wednesday who were seriously hurt during the weeks of bombing.
