By NAJIB JOBAIN and KAREEM CHEHAYEB (Associated Press)
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to flee components of southern Gaza, residents mentioned Thursday, signaling a doable growth of their offensive to the zone the place many of the territory’s inhabitants has fled to flee Israel’s bombardment and floor assault.
Meanwhile, troopers continued looking Shifa Hospital within the north, in a raid that started early Wednesday. They displayed weapons they are saying had been discovered hidden in a single constructing, however have but to launch any proof of the central Hamas command heart that Israel has mentioned is hid beneath the complicated. Hamas and employees on the hospital, Gaza’s largest, deny the allegations. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Broadening operations to the south — the place Israel already carries out day by day air raids — threatens to worsen an already extreme humanitarian disaster within the besieged territory. Over 1.5 million individuals have been internally displaced in Gaza, with most having fled to the south, the place meals, water and electrical energy are more and more scarce.
It’s not clear the place else they may go, as Egypt refuses to permit a mass switch onto its soil.
The territory was lower off from the surface world once more Thursday, when all communication companies shut down due to a scarcity of gas, in keeping with the Palestinian telecoms supplier.
The battle, now in its sixth week, was triggered by a wide-ranging Hamas assault into southern Israel on Oct. 7 by which terrorists killed over 1,200 individuals, principally civilians, and captured some 240 males, ladies and youngsters. Israel responded with a weekslong air marketing campaign and a floor invasion of northern Gaza, vowing to take away Hamas from energy and crush its navy capabilities.
More than 11,200 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them ladies and minors, in keeping with Palestinian well being authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported lacking, with most believed to be buried beneath the rubble. The official rely doesn’t differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, and Israel says it has killed 1000’s of militants.
The battle has infected tensions elsewhere. On Thursday, gunmen shot and wounded 4 individuals at a checkpoint on the principle highway linking Jerusalem to Israeli settlements within the occupied West Bank.
The three attackers had been killed, in keeping with police, who mentioned the assailants had assault rifles, handguns and hatchets, and had been getting ready a large-scale assault in Jerusalem.
SOME GUNS, BUT SO FAR NO TUNNELS
Israeli troops stormed into Gaza’s largest hospital Wednesday, looking for traces of Hamas inside and beneath the ability, the place newborns and lots of of different sufferers have suffered for days with out electrical energy and different fundamental requirements.
Troops searched the underground ranges of the hospital on Thursday and detained technicians chargeable for working its tools, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza mentioned in a press release.
The navy mentioned its troopers had been accompanied by medical groups bringing in incubators and different provides.
After encircling Shifa for days, Israel faces strain to show its declare that Hamas used the sufferers, employees and civilians sheltering there to offer cowl for its fighters. The allegation — which the U.S. has mentioned it has intelligence to help — is a part of Israel’s broader accusation that Hamas makes use of Palestinians as human shields.
The navy launched video from inside Shifa displaying three duffel baggage it mentioned it discovered hidden round an MRI lab, every containing an assault rifle, grenades and Hamas uniforms, in addition to a closet that contained quite a lot of assault rifles with out ammunition clips. The Associated Press couldn’t independently confirm the Israeli claims that the weapons had been discovered contained in the hospital.
Hamas and Gaza well being officers deny fighters function in Shifa — a hospital that employs some 1,500 individuals and has greater than 500 beds. Palestinians and rights teams accuse Israel of recklessly endangering civilians.
Munir al-Boursh, a senior official with Gaza’s Health Ministry contained in the hospital, mentioned troops ransacked the basement and different buildings, and questioned and scanned the faces of sufferers, employees and other people sheltering within the facility.
Israeli forces battled militants exterior the hospital for days, however there have been no experiences of militants firing from inside Shifa, or of any preventing inside the hospital after Israeli troops entered.
The Health Ministry mentioned 40 sufferers, together with three infants, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of gas Saturday. There was no phrase on the situation of one other 36 infants, who the ministry mentioned earlier had been vulnerable to dying.
LOOKING SOUTH
The leaflets, dropped in areas east of the southern city of Khan Younis, warned civilians to evacuate and mentioned anybody within the neighborhood of militants or their positions “is putting his life in danger.” Similar leaflets had been dropped over northern Gaza for weeks forward of the bottom invasion.
Two reporters who stay east of Khan Younis confirmed seeing the leaflets. Others shared photos of the leaflets on social media. The navy declined to remark.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant mentioned Wednesday the bottom operation will finally “include both the north and south. We will strike Hamas wherever it is.”
Even as Israel indicators a wider offensive, it has but to place forth a long-term plan, apart from saying it’s going to preserve safety management over Gaza indefinitely.
The U.S. has urged Israel to not reoccupy the territory, from which it withdrew troopers and settlers in 2005, and helps the eventual creation of a Palestinian state together with Gaza and the occupied West Bank — additionally the long-held aspiration of the Palestinians. Israel’s authorities was staunchly against Palestinian statehood even earlier than the battle.
The navy says it has largely consolidated its management of the north, together with seizing and demolishing authorities buildings. Video launched by the military Thursday confirmed troopers shifting between closely broken buildings by way of holes blown of their partitions.
The navy mentioned it had blown up a residence belonging to Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas chief based mostly overseas. It was unclear if anybody was contained in the constructing.
With most of Gaza’s 2.3 million individuals crowded into the territory’s south, residents say bread is scarce and grocery store cabinets are naked. Families cook dinner on wooden fires for lack of gas. Central electrical energy and working water have been out for weeks.
The worsening gas scarcity threatens to paralyze the supply of humanitarian companies, and Palestinian telecoms supplier Paltel mentioned Thursday it led landline connections, the cell community and web connections to close down.
Gaza has skilled three earlier mass communication outages for the reason that floor invasion.
Israel allowed a small quantity of gas to enter Gaza on Wednesday, for the primary time for the reason that battle started, in order that the U.N. company for Palestinian refugees might proceed bringing restricted provides of assist.
The gas can’t be used for hospitals or to desalinate water, and covers lower than 10% of what the company must maintain “lifesaving activities,” mentioned Thomas White, the company’s Gaza director.
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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Amy Teibel and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Full AP protection at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”