the Israeli army says it is surrounding the house of the Hamas leader in Khan Younes – L’Express

The Israeli army has captured the large town of Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where it claims to be tracking down the main leader of Hamas. At the same time, civilians continue to be pushed back towards the border with Egypt and are victims of deadly bombings. The UN has warned of the possibility of “a total breakdown of public order” in Gaza imminently and reiterated its calls for a ceasefire.

⇒ IDF says surround Hamas leader’s house.

⇒ The UN reiterates its calls for a ceasefire.

⇒ Civilians are once again pushed south to Rafah.

Engaged since October 27 in a ground offensive in the north of Gaza, in parallel with its campaign of massive air strikes, Israel has extended its ground operations to the entire small Palestinian territory. In Khan Younes, the largest city in the south of the Gaza Strip, Israeli infantrymen, armored vehicles and bulldozers reached the city center, according to witnesses. The Israeli army claimed Wednesday evening to have “pierced the defensive lines” of Hamas, “eliminated a number of terrorists” and destroyed around “30 tunnel entrances”. At the same time, the Israeli army also announced that it had killed “half of the commanders” of Hamas to date.

The Israeli army would also approach the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Khan Younes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were “surrounding (Yahya) Sinouar’s house.” “Sinouar is hiding underground,” said Daniel Hagari, an army spokesperson, referring to Hamas tunnels under Gaza. Yahya Sinouar, 61 years old, 23 of whom spent in Israeli prisons, is considered the architect of the unprecedented attack of October 7, the date since which he has not been seen publicly in Gaza.

The US Congress failed on Wednesday to move forward on a large package of more than $106 billion insisted on by President Biden, including funds for Ukraine and Israel. The Republican opposition refused to support this text at the heart of very acrimonious negotiations, demanding significant concessions on the migration policy of the United States in exchange for their votes.

As the IDF expands its ground operations, the civilian population is forced to move to an increasingly cramped perimeter in Rafah, along the Egyptian border. According to the UN, 1.9 million people, or around 85% of the population, have been displaced by the war in the Gaza Strip where more than half of the homes are destroyed or damaged by Israeli bombings. The UN also considers it “impossible” to set up secure zones to accommodate civilians fleeing the fighting.

As night fell on Wednesday, thick clouds of black smoke and flames continued to rise from Gaza. During the day, trails drawn by rockets fired towards Israel from Rafah, in the south of the small Palestinian territory, also dotted the sky. “The whole city is suffering destruction and incessant bombing. Many people arrive from the north in disastrous conditions, homeless, looking for their children,” Hassan Al-Qadi, a resident of Khan Younes, told AFP. moved further south to Rafah, a border town with Egypt. “We are devastated, mentally overwhelmed,” laments Amal Mahdi, who survived a raid. “We need someone to support us, find a solution to get us out of this situation.”

Predicting a “total collapse of law and order soon” in Gaza due to the number of civilians killed, displaced, and lack of food, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called for a ceasefire humanitarian, attracting a scathing refusal from Israel.

Antonio Guterres used for the first time in his mandate a rare procedure, article 99 of the United Nations Charter, which allows him to “draw the attention” of the Security Council to a file which “could endanger the maintenance of international peace and security. According to several diplomats, the Security Council should meet on Friday to consider this appeal.

“Guterres’ mandate is a danger for world peace,” replied the head of Israeli diplomacy Eli Cohen on X (ex-Twitter), believing that the activation of article 99 and the call for a cease -the fire “constitutes support for the terrorist organization Hamas”.

The Israeli government, however, approved on Wednesday a “minimum delivery of fuel – necessary to avoid a humanitarian collapse and the appearance of epidemics – in the south of the Gaza Strip”, the Prime Minister’s office announced on X. The quantity delivered will be “determined gradually” depending on the humanitarian situation, he added.