By Ken Afor
Israel has surrounded the Gaza Strip’s largest city and said it aims to destroy Hamas, while the United States has said it is ready to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid reach thousands trapped as a result of the conflict.
As the conflict enters its fourth week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is to visit Israel for the second time in a month to meet Netanyahu as Israeli forces battle Hamas militants in underground tunnels.
“We’re at the height of the battle. We’ve had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the military said it had encircled the seaside enclave’s main city.
As he leaves Washington for the Middle East, Blinken said he would discuss concrete measures to reduce harm to civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, White House has said that any cessation of hostilities should be temporary, localized and not prevent Israel from defending itself.
Rising Palestinian civilian casualties and shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel have prompted world leaders to call for an end to the war or a ceasefire.
Israel rejected the request, accusing Hamas militants of deliberately hiding among residents and civilian buildings. The White House also rejected calls for a ceasefire.
At least 9,061 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched an offensive against the home to 2.3 million people in response to deadly attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel, according to Gaza health officials.
Independent UN experts have warned that Palestinians are at high risk of genocide.
“We call on Israel and its allies to agree to an immediate ceasefire. We are running out of time,” the group of U.N. special rapporteurs said in a statement.
Israel’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva called the rapporteur’s statement “deplorable and deeply concerning” and blamed Hamas for the civilian deaths.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said only relevant UN judicial bodies can make decisions on genocide.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,400 people and took more than 240 hostages in the October 7 attacks, the deadliest day in its 75-year history. The White House announced Thursday that it is investigating a series of breaks in the conflict.
“What we’re trying to do is explore the idea of as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages,” U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Prime Minister Blinken is scheduled to meet Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman on Saturday. Prime Minister Safadi said in a statement that Israel must stop its war against Gaza, where it has committed war crimes, including bombing civilians and imposing sieges.
Israel Army, Hamas Militants Take Battle To The Tunnels:
Amid heavy shelling in the Gaza Strip, Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that “troops completed the encirclement of Gaza City, which is the focal point of the Hamas terror organization.” Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, head of Israel’s Corps of Engineers, said troops found landmines and booby traps.
“Hamas has learned and prepared itself well,” he said.
Abu Ubaidah, a spokesman for the militant group Hamas, said in a televised speech on Thursday that the number of Israeli casualties in Gaza was far higher than the army claimed. “Your soldiers will return in black bags,” he said.
Israel said it had lost 18 soldiers and killed dozens of militants since expanding its ground operations on Friday. Residents said Hamas and allied Islamic Jihad fighters emerged from the tunnels, opened fire on the tanks and then reentered the network.
Two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US had launched intelligence-gathering drones into Gaza to help find the hostages. One of the officials said the drone flights had been carried out for more than a week.
Evacuation Due Third Straight Days:
Gaza’s Rafah border crossing into Egypt was due to open on Friday for three days of limited evacuation under a deal negotiated by Qatar to allow foreign passport holders and their families and affected Gaza residents to leave their residence.
According to border authorities, more than 700 foreigners have crossed into Egypt through Rafah in the past two days.
Dozens of seriously injured Palestinians are also expected to cross the border. Israel asked foreign countries to send hospital ships. More than a third of Gaza’s 35 hospitals have closed and many have been turned into refugee camps.
“The situation is beyond catastrophic,” the Palestinian Medical Aid Organization said this, describing overcrowded corridors and many doctors absent from work or homeless.
