Gaza City, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has declared Gaza’s biggest city a dangerous fighting zone and retrieved two more hostages as the Army launched the “early stages” of a planned attack that sparked international condemnation on Friday.
Just as the military announced the resumption of combat, which could prevent residents from receiving food and other supplies, the aiding groups and church people said they would stay, abandoning their hunger and refused to evacuate those who were dependent on them.
The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced its plans Expanding attacks in Gaza citywith hundreds of thousands of people evacuated while enduring hunger, and the military has recently stepped up strikes in the city’s suburban neighborhoods.
When Israel announced the early stages of the attack on Friday morning, we could hear the explosion of smoke and lightning across the southern border of Israel.
Israel has been called in the past Gaza city Hamas’s hub claims that the tunnel network continues to be used by extremists after previous massive attacks in areas nearly 23 months after the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that it is important to crippling Hamas’ ability in the city to protect Israel from the attack on October 7, 2023.
While UN agencies and aid groups denounced the launch of the attack, people in Gaza said there was little difference as the strike was already intensified and the aid reached the aid was insufficient.
Mohamed Aboul Hadi said the suspension was no different.
“Even during a humanitarian pause, the massacre never stopped,” he said in a text message sent by Gaza City.
When the attacks in Gaza City begin, some people refuse to leave
In the face of international criticism, Israel enacted what it called a “tactical pause” in Gaza city last month. It says it is directed towards more food and assistance. The suspension included a halt of combat between 10am and 8pm, but aid groups remained difficult to deliver due to lockdowns, looting and Israeli detention.
At noon Friday, the military said it had suspended its suspension and marked its latest escalation a few weeks after announcing preparatory strikes in some of the city’s neighborhoods. Call tens of thousands of reserves.
“We will step up our strike until we reclaim all the hostages that were lured back and demolish Hamas,” said Israeli Army spokesman Avichey Adley.
Adrie, an Arabic spokesman for the Israeli military, called evacuation “inevitable” even as aid groups warned of serious obstacles, urged Palestinians in Gaza to flee for days.
The United Nations said Thursday that 23,000 people have been evacuated in the past week, but many Palestinians in Gaza City are exhausted after multiple displacements and questions have passed if the journey is safe and if it is expensive.
The Holy Family Church in Gaza City told the Associated Press on Friday that around 440 people evacuated there will remain with members of the clergy supporting them.
Farid Jublanc said the church left people to make decisions despite little request to isolate itself from the battle.
“When we feel danger, people get closer to walls and so on, and they’re more protected,” he said. He said the church has little particular defenses.
The UN Humanitarian organisation said its staff and NGOs would also remain on the ground.
The aid group says they were not notified
Last month, Israel introduced a tactical moratorium as it faced global condemnation of the humanitarian conditions of the besieged strip. When they stopped them in Gaza city on Friday, the military did not say whether they notified residents or the aid group of imminent declarations prior to the 11:30am announcement.
The Norwegian Refugee Council, which coordinates a coalition of aid groups operating in Gaza, said it had not received a notification that Israel’s “tactical suspension” would be suspended.
Gaza City has many of the territorial critical infrastructure and healthcare facilities. The UN said the strip, which was besieged on Thursday, could lose half the hospital’s bed capacity during the spread of the attack.
“We cannot provide medical services to the two million people who are besieged in the South,” said Zaher Al-Wahidi, a spokesman for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, and said forced evacuation across the largest city on the Gaza Strip would be an environmental and health catastrophe.
The suspension will also come a week after one of the world’s leading food security authorities declare that Gaza City is in it Grabbed by hunger After a few months of warning.
The hostage remains have been recovered
Israel said Friday that the troops had recovered the bodies of two hostages, including the Israelis who were killed in the October 7 attack.
Ruins of Iranian Weiss and other unnamed hostages have been returned to Israel.
“The hostage return campaign continues, and we will not rest or be silent until we return all hostage homes.
Weiss, 55 at the time of his death, was killed in an attack on Kibbutzberg, one of the southern Israeli communities near Gaza, which Hamas-led extremists attacked on October 7th.
On the day of the attack, Weiss headed to the community’s arms stolen and disappeared after dodging the militants. His wife and daughter were also taken hostages and released 50 days later.
For hostage families, the return of their bodies meets central demand and provides a measure of closure, but also serves as a reminder of the bloodshed and hostages that remain in Gaza.
“At least they have a closure,” said Rubi Chen, whose son was accused of being killed during the attack on October 7th. “49 families are still waiting for it to close.”
Of the 251 hostages filmed by Hamas-led extremists almost 22 months ago, around 50 remain in Gaza, including 20 who believe Israel is alive.
The Israeli Hostages and Missing Family Forum has organized massive protests calling for a ceasefire to return hostages, lamenting the losses, saying Israeli leaders should prioritize contracts to return both their lives and their deaths.
“We ask the Israeli government to enter into negotiations and stay at the table until the last hostages return home. Time is running out due to the hostages.
Almost 63,000 people have died in Gaza since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Palestinian Ministry of Health. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but it says that more than half of the deaths were women and children.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and independent experts consider it the most reliable source of information on victims of war. Israel disputes the figures, but does not provide its own.
Hamas-led militants lured 251 people and killed around 1,200 in the October 7 attack that sparked war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires and other deals. Of the nearly 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, Israel believes that around 20 are alive.
___
The Mets and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Shlomo Mor in southern Israel, Ibrahim Hazboon in Jerusalem and Menelaus Hazkostis in Nicosia, Cyprus contributed to this report.
