More than 100 days after the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, on October 7, the bombings continue but the Jewish state has announced an early end to the “intensive” phase of the offensive. One of the four Israeli divisions engaged in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground offensive on October 27 withdrew in the evening, according to the army.
Information to remember
⇒ Iranian strikes left four dead in Iraqi Kurdistan
⇒ Two Hamas hostages are dead
⇒ Houthis claim responsibility for attack on American cargo ship
The ‘intensive’ phase of the war ‘will end soon’
The “intensive” phase of the war against Hamas “will end soon” in the south of the Palestinian territory, announced Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. One of the four Israeli divisions engaged in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground offensive on October 27 withdrew in the evening, according to the army.
“We have clearly said that the intensive stage of operations will last approximately three months.” “In the south, we will achieve this and it will end soon,” said Minister Gallant. And he continued: “The time will come when we will enter the next phase” of the war in Gaza. The Israeli cabinet previously approved an amended budget for 2024, adding $15 billion (EUR 13.7 billion) in spending to meet the cost of the war.
During the night, Israeli planes bombed the Khan Younes sector (in the south), the epicenter of ground fighting and air raids in recent weeks where, according to the army, the local leadership of Hamas is hiding. According to the Israeli Defense Minister, the Hamas brigade in this area is “disintegrating.”
According to the press office of the Palestinian Islamist movement, these strikes left a total of 78 dead and many injured during the evening and night. An assessment that no independent source is able to verify. Yoav Gallant also reaffirmed that the Palestinians will “govern” the Gaza Strip after the war, when the Palestinian Islamist movement “no longer threatens” Israel.
Iranian strikes in Iraq and Syria
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced on Tuesday that they had launched several salvos of ballistic missiles on “terrorist” targets in Iraq and Syria, killing at least “four civilians” in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to local authorities in the autonomous region.
In Washington, an official denounced “a series of reckless and imprecise strikes”. “No American personnel or installations were targeted,” however, clarified Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
On the outskirts of Erbil, capital of autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed to have targeted and destroyed “a spy headquarters” – which they attributed to Israel – as well as a “gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups”, according to the official IRNA news agency. The US State Department stressed that the United States was “opposed” to these “irresponsible strikes” which “undermine the stability of Iraq”.
Two Hamas hostages are dead
Hamas released a new video on Monday announcing the death of two Israeli hostages who were kidnapped in southern Israel on October 7 and have since been held in the Gaza Strip. The video shows a young woman, also a hostage, visibly under pressure, claiming that two men with whom she was detained are dead. No indication of the filming date is given in the video.
In a statement, the armed wing of Hamas claims that “they were killed in Zionist bombings on Gaza”, which the Israeli army immediately denied, denouncing “the brutal use of hostages of innocent people” by the Islamist movement.
Houthis claim responsibility for attack on US cargo ship
The Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on an American cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. According to their military spokesperson, this attack is part of “the response” to the American-British strikes against Yemen. Now, he claims, the Houthis consider “all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against (the) country as hostile targets.”
The Houthis will continue to prevent Israeli ships from crossing the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the end of the Gaza war, and to take “defensive and offensive measures” to defend against US-British strikes , according to their spokesperson.
Mélenchon in Lebanon to demonstrate his “solidarity”
LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon is going to Lebanon on Tuesday to demonstrate his “solidarity” with the Lebanese and once again call for the “restoration of peace in the region”. “700 French soldiers under blue helmets are stationed there for a UN peace mission. Their mission includes the risk of being among the first to suffer the consequences of the extension of the conflict. They deserve the reinforcement of the marks of our support and our respect”, adds l’Insoumis in a press release.