In the ongoing conflict within Gaza, Israeli forces stated on Saturday that they have eliminated over 170 combatants during their continuous strike operation in the main hospital of the Palestinian territory. The military revealed its progress just as UN Secretary General António Guterres touched down in Egypt for a visit to the Gaza border, with the intention to urge for a ceasefire. This aim is to alleviate the distressed region, which has been wracked by in excess of five months’ conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli soldiers advanced into Gaza City’s Al Shifa hospital early Monday morning, probing the large facility, which the military insist is linked to a tunnel system utilised by Hamas and other Palestinian combatants as a base. They reported, “So far, over 170 terrorists in the vicinity of the hospital have been terminated, allowing the forces to interrogate upwards of 800 suspects and find a plethora of weapons and irregular warfare infrastructure.”
Authentic personal accounts from the conflict, such as Atef Abu Saif’s ‘Gaza Diaries. Don’t Look Left’, offer crucial eye-witness evidences. Saif survived the dire situation by a fluke. Al Shifa, the largest health service provider in the Gaza Strip before the conflict, remains only partially functional in the north of the territory, offering much-needed shelter to displaced locals.
The military disclosed on Thursday that more than 350 militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad had been captured at the hospital thus far – this is the most significant number detained simultaneously since the conflict’s inception in October. Claims that the hospital is being used for military purposes or as a hiding place for fighters have been vehemently denied by both Hamas and the medical personnel on the ground.
In recent developments, spokespersons for Hamas disclosed that the death toll stated in earlier reports from the Israeli side were not fighters, but patients and refugees, placing accusations of war crimes against Israel. Meanwhile, the Israeli military, which lost two soldiers at the medical facility, asserts that it is working to prevent any harm to civilians, patients and medical staff. Reuters has however, been unable to independently verify the claims from either side.
The Israeli forces faced widespread condemnation in November last year when they initially invaded the hospital, following which tunnels were discovered that, according to their reports, were strategically used by Hamas for command and control centres. During these developments, Mr Guterres reached Al Arish in Egypt’s northern Sinai on Saturday, a crucial point for the international aid being channelled and stockpiled for Gaza.
Regional Governor, Mohamed Shusha, has revealed that approximately 7,000 vehicles are in a queue in North Sinai, waiting to conduct much-needed aid distribution to Gaza. However, aid distribution is delayed because of Israeli-imposed inspection protocols, as revealed by a statement from Shusha’s office.
The situation is further complicated as Israel considering a significant military invasion into Rafah, a southern Gazan city. Despite global appeals to avoid such an action, Gazans, who account for the majority of the 2.3 million population, are taking shelter in and around Rafah. Conditions across the territory have noticeably worsened since the conflict began, particularly in Northern Gaza.
Soon, Mr Guterres is set to visit Palestinians undergoing treatment at an Al Arish hospital after being evacuated from Gaza. He will also be meeting with UN humanitarian workers stationed at Egypt’s side of the Rafah crossing, one of the aid entry points.
As the situation in Gaza grows increasingly desperate and hopes for a ceasefire during Ramadan dwindling, the United States, among other nations, are resorting to air and sea routes to deliver aid. However, humanitarian agencies report that only about 20% of the necessary supplies are reaching Gaza. They argue that the situation can only be alleviated by boosting road deliveries.
Israel, who has pledged to annihilate Hamas over fear that the militant group will divert the aid, has maintained almost all of its land border points with the enclave shut. It did, however, in late December, open its Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah, and rejects allegations from Egypt and UN aid agencies that they have delayed the delivery of humanitarian relief.
A famine warning in the northern part of Gaza was issued this week by a global food monitor, who reports that the famine threat could spread throughout the land without a ceasefire agreement. Israeli military campaigned have, as local health authorities report, killed over 32,000 people, a large number of these being women and children.
The military operation by Israel was prompted after a Hamas attack that, based on Israeli stats, resulted in a death toll of about 1,200 and over 250 hostages’ seizure. This visit marks a return for Mr Guterres to Egypt’s border with Gaza after the war erupted. This forms part of an annual “solidarity trip” to Muslim nations during Ramadan, and his travel itinerary also includes Jordan and Egypt.
He is expected to partake in a meal to end the daily fast alongside Sudanese refugees during his visit to Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The conflict between competing armed groups in Sudan has resulted in displacement of close to 8.5 million individuals, severe famines in certain sections of the populace, along with a series of killings in Darfur incited by ethnic tensions, as reported by Reuters.