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Israel-Hamas: IDF enters Gaza City, targets Hamas tunnels
Published 4 hours agoPublished 4 hours agolast updated 42 minutes agolast updated 42 minutes ago
Israeli officials said the army was “in the depths of Gaza City” in its fight against militant group Hamas. G7 foreign ministers are, meanwhile, expected to issue a joint statement on the conflict. DW has the latest.
https://p.dw.com/p/4YXSJ
Israeli troops in Gaza
Israeli troops are conducting a ground operation in the Gaza StripImage: Israel Defense Forces/Xinhua/picture alliance
Skip next section What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
G7 foreign ministers back “humanitarian pauses” in fighting in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the Israeli army reached deep into Gaza, where Islamist group Hamas “thought we would never reach”
Israeli military claims to have killed a key Hamas rocket maker
Skip next section G7 supports ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza
42 minutes ago42 minutes ago
G7 supports ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza
G7 foreign ministers each standing in front of the flag of their country G7 foreign ministers each standing in front of the flag of their country
The G7 foreign ministers’ statement condemned Hamas and affirmed Israel’s right to self-defenseImage: Jonathan Ernst/Pool/dpa/picture alliance
The G7 group of major industrial countries have backed a US call for “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, foreign ministers said on Wednesday.
“We stress the need for urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza… we support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages,” ministers said in a joint statement following talks in Japan.
The group also said it recognized Israel’s right to defend itself “in accordance with international law.”
The G7 ministers called on Iran to “refrain from supporting” the Islamist militant group Hamas, which launched attacks on Israel on October 7, killing over 1,400 people. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by several G7 countries, as well as by Israel and a number of other states.
Following the talks, officials stressed the bloc’s “unity” in the face of geopolitical challenges.
“This is a very important moment as well for the G7 to come together in the face of this crisis and to speak, as we do, with one clear voice,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: “The unity of G7 is needed more than ever with the situation in Israel and Palestine, the situation in Ukraine, and the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.”
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Skip next section Airstrike kills Hamas arms developer — IDF says
55 minutes ago55 minutes ago
Airstrike kills Hamas arms developer — IDF says
Israel’s military and security forces have killed a “senior Hamas weapons developer,” according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF said a strike from a fighter jet killed Mohsen Abu Zina. The IDF said he “served as one of Hamas’ leading weapons developers and was an expert in developing strategic weapons and rockets.”
The statement cited joint intelligence from the IDF and the Shin Bet internal security service. The report of Abu Zina’s death could not be independently verified.
The statement did not say where Abu Zina was killed.
Israel has said it intends to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities in its strikes on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military campaign has left over 10,000 dead in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-led Health Ministry.
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the United States and several other countries. It launched terror attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which Israeli authorities say killed over 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
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Skip next section More Palestinians flee southwards — UN agency
2 hours ago2 hours ago
More Palestinians flee southwards — UN agency
The pace of Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza has increased, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
The agency said up to 15,000 people in the Gaza Strip fled southwards on Tuesday, three times the number estimated to have fled on Monday.
Most of those fleeing were children, the elderly and people with disabilities, the UN agency said.
UNOCHA said 1.5 million people in the territory were internally displaced. It said that 725,000 were staying at UN facilities, adding that “overcrowding remains a major concern” at shelter sites.
Israel has repeatedly called on people in Gaza to move out of the enclave’s northern region and has provided hourslong windows of time for them safely to do so. Northern Gaza, particularly Gaza City, has been the focus of the Israeli military’s campaign to defeat the Hamas militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years.
The Israeli military campaign, which, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza, has killed over 10,000 people, began after Hamas conducted terror attacks in southern Israel that killed over 1,400 people.
While the death tolls cannot be independently verified, the United Nations and other international organizations said that the figures from the Gaza ministry have proven generally reliable in past conflicts.
Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union as well as Germany, the United States and several other nations.
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Skip next section US House censures Rashida Tlaib over Israel comments
3 hours ago3 hours ago
US House censures Rashida Tlaib over Israel comments
The US House of Representatives voted 234-188 to censure Rashida Tlaib for her comments about Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip against the militant Islamist group Hamas.
Twenty-two Democrats joined with most Republicans in the chamber to rebuke Tlaib for her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.
Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American member of Congress and one of two Muslim women in the House of Representatives.
She has repeatedly condemned Hamas’s terror attack on Israel, in which militants killed 1,400 people in southern Israel and took over 240 people hostage. She has also criticized US support for the Israeli military as it retaliates with bombardments that, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, have killed over 10,000 people in Gaza and created a humanitarian crisis.
The censure cited a video Tlaib published on social media containing a pro-Palestinian rallying cry widely seen as antisemitic and calling for Israel’s eradication.
Tlaib denied this on Tuesday and said her criticism of Israel was directed at its government and not the Jewish people.
“I will not be silenced, and I will not let you distort my words,” Tlaib said.
“It is important to separate people and government,” she added. “The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent. And it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.”
Censuring is a punishment one step below expulsion from the House but has no immediate consequences.
It has traditionally been used as a last resort against behavior considered egregious, but censure motions are becoming more common in the chamber.
https://p.dw.com/p/4YXUM
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Skip next section IDF reportedly ‘in the depths of’ Gaza City
4 hours ago4 hours ago
IDF reportedly ‘in the depths of’ Gaza City
Israeli tanks in a continuing ground operation in the Gaza StripIsraeli tanks in a continuing ground operation in the Gaza Strip
Netanyahu said, “Hamas realizes that we are reaching places they thought we would never reach.”Image: Israel Defense Forces/Xinhua/picture alliance
Israel said on Tuesday that its ground forces were battling Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City, marking a major shift in the monthlong conflict.
Army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli military troops were “located right now in a ground operation in the depths of Gaza City and putting great pressure on Hamas.”
He said Israel’s combat engineering corps were using explosives to destroy the vast tunnel network built by Hamas beneath Gaza.
Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad denied the IDF’s claims that it had advanced deep into the Gaza Strip, adding that “Palestinians fight and fight and fight against Israel.”
“The never give the people the truth,” added Hamad, who left Gaza days before Hamas militants’ terror attacks on Israel.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that “Hamas realizes that we are reaching places they thought we would never reach.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant previously vowed to find Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by the US, the EU, Germany and others.
Netanyahu signals Israel will control Gaza security
02:37
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Skip next section G7 foreign ministers discuss Gaza situation
4 hours ago4 hours ago
G7 foreign ministers discuss Gaza situation
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy, industrialized nations have discussed ways to revitalize the peace process in the Middle East at a two-day summit in Tokyo.
Meeting host Japan said the topic was broached at a working dinner on Tuesday night and that talks would continue on Wednesday.
The foreign ministers are due to issue a joint communique at the end of the meeting.
The statement will present the G7’s “united stance” on the conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.
zc/sms (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters)
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