While thousands of residents of northern Gaza carried out their desperate evacuation along the Saladin Highway to find a safer place in the south and thousands of Israelis marched on Highway 1 towards Jerusalem to demand the release of the 239 kidnapped people, the war fierce between Israel and the fundamentalist group Hamas entered its seventh week.
Waiting for a possible truce of several days in exchange for the freedom of dozens of children and their mothers kidnapped on October 7, the main fronts are in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the fighting in a ground incursion that is expanding, the firing of projectiles against Israel and the Israeli bombings in the Palestinian enclave.
In response to the jihadist attack in October, Israel declared total war on Hamas, promising to destroy its infrastructure and liquidate its leaders and senior commanders in Gaza, the West Bank (on Friday night it killed a leader of the armed wing and other militiamen), South from Lebanon (its cells fire projectiles against the Israeli north) and other capitals in the region (several leaders such as Ismail Haniya and Khaled Meshal live in golden exile and until 7-O for sure).
“After the 7-0 massacres, no Hamas terrorist is immune wherever he is,” warns an officer about a Jisul (liquidation or neutralization) list made up of well-known leaders as well as anonymous but filmed participants in the attacks against kibbutzim, the music festival (364 victims), cities and bases in southern Israel.
The most wanted list in Gaza of the internal security service (Shabak) and Military Intelligence has four aces: The leader of Hamas, Yahia Sinwar, the head of the armed wing, Mohamed Deif and his number two, Marwan Issa, and finally , Mohamed Sinwar, a key figure for his role in the armed infrastructure and because he is the brother of the leader. It is no coincidence that a few days ago the image of the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, with the photos of the Sinwar brothers was broadcast on one of the screens in the room. Israel’s objective is to eliminate the four and the heads of the five Hamas brigades deployed in the Gaza Strip either with the Air Force in selective bombings (missile against the floor of a building) or massive bombings (basically underground infrastructures) and with their soldiers on the ground under the belief that they direct the war dozens of meters underground in the network of tunnels.
Asked about Hamas leaders abroad, Gallant was clear this Saturday: “For me there is no difference between a terrorist who goes with a Kalashnikov and a terrorist who goes with a three-piece suit somewhere else in the world.”
The Ezzedin Al Qassam Brigades admitted the death a month ago of one of their commanders, Ayman Noufal. “Abu Ahmad, member of the general military council and leader of the central commands of the brigades, died in a savage Zionist bombardment against the Bureij camp,” reported the group that, as part of its internal and external communication strategy, does not reveal the number of militiamen killed in the war.
Hamas today confirmed the death of one of its politburo leaders in an Israeli airstrike. Ahmed Bahar, who supported the “Holy War” against Israel, served as acting president of Parliament. The legislative chamber, with a symbolic function and without power also due to internal division, was formed after the victory of Hamas in the last Palestinian elections (2006). The following year, Islamists in Gaza expelled Fatah forces, creating the Palestinian division that remains in force.
The ratification of Bahar’s death came the day after the Israeli bombing of two underground complexes. If various information were confirmed, the list of targets hit would also include Rahwi Mushtawa (one of the founders of the armed wing and former Israeli cellmate of Sinwar, of whom he is his number 2), Ahmed Gandur (head of the northern brigade) and Ayman Siam (responsible for projectile infrastructure).
The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry accused Israel of launching two deadly airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp, killing more than 80 people. One of the facilities reached is the Fakura school, which under the management of UNRWA (UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees) serves as a shelter for displaced people. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned it, adding that “a humanitarian ceasefire cannot wait any longer.”
Before the announcement of the death of six soldiers, the Army reported this Saturday that “numerous terrorists” died in a ground operation in Zayton and on the outskirts of Jabalia where, it states, “the command and control center of the Northern Brigade is housed.” of Gaza and is one of the most important terrorist strongholds, in which four Hamas battalions operate.
At Al Shifa Hospital, the head of Plastic Surgery, Ahmed El Mokhallalati, indicated that six doctors will stay to care for 120 patients who cannot move due to poor conditions while the director of the center, Mohamed Abu Salmiya, confirmed the evacuation of several thousand displaced in southern Gaza.
The Army, which searches areas of the hospital alleging that it is used by the armed wing of Hamas, which it denies, denied that it gave an ultimatum for the evacuation “in one hour” of patients or medical equipment. According to him, he accepted the request of the director of Al Shifa Hospital to allow and assist the evacuation of anyone who wishes to do so at the Hospital “by a safe means.” What he did not deny is the call for residents to “immediately” evacuate the neighborhoods of Jabalia, Al Daraj al Tufah and Al Shuyaiya while applying “the temporary tactical suspension of military activities” in those areas for four hours. “We urge them to urgently evacuate, because it is dangerous for them to remain there,” the Army said in Arabic.
The UN confirmed the fuel supply accepted by Israel but warned that two tanker trucks a day “is far from enough to cover the needs” for desalination plants, residential water pumps, hospitals, ambulances or bakeries. “After long weeks of delay, Israeli authorities approved only half of the minimum daily fuel needs for humanitarian operations in Gaza,” he warned.
