Israeli army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari has disclosed that Israeli forces had carried out a large attack on Jabalia and killed Hamas commander Ebrahim Biari.
The military described Biari as the commander of the Jabalia centre battalion that oversaw fighting in all of northern Gaza. Hagari said Israeli forces killed about 50 Hamas fighters over the last day.
Hagari added that the Jabalia attack had severely damaged the command and control centre of the sector
Hamas did not immediately respond to the claim, which comes after Gaza’s interior ministry said an Israeli attack on the Jabalia refugee camp had killed and wounded hundreds.
Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, acknowledged that the Israeli military is making “significant” achievements during the ground operation in the Gaza Strip but it is also “paying a heavy price.”
“We are deploying forces on a large scale, deep in the [Gaza] Strip,” Gallant was reported as telling troops belonging to Israel’s air force units.
“There are battles against the forces that are operating [in Gaza] and the results and achievements on the battlefield are very high. Unfortunately, in war, there are also prices, and the prices in the last day were heavy prices. Despite that, we are also determined to continue and win.”
Yoav Gallant
Hamas’s armed wing said it would release a number of the foreign hostages in its captivity “in the next few days.”
Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for al-Qassam Brigades, said in a televised statement posted on social media:
“We have informed intermediaries that we will release a certain number of foreigners in the next few days,” he said.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of “committing crimes against humanity in Gaza” – with the support of the United States and Europe.
Erdogan, who has taken an increasingly strident line against Israel since the beginning of its attacks on Gaza, said that Israel “must be stopped”, in comments made after a cabinet meeting.
“Our discussions are ongoing to ensure the perpetrators of war crimes in Gaza are held accountable,” the president added, before calling for a ceasefire “to prevent a massacre”, followed by a “path to lasting peace”.
Guterres Deeply Alarmed
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed by the intensification of the conflict” amid Israel’s expansion of operations in Gaza and ongoing bombardment.
“Civilians have borne the brunt of the current fighting from the outset. Protection of civilians on both sides is paramount and must be respected at all times,” he said.
“International humanitarian law establishes clear rules that cannot be ignored. It is not an a la carte menu and cannot be applied selectively. All parties must abide by it, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.”
Antonio Guterres
He called the current level of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza “completely inadequate and not commensurate with the needs of people”, while again calling for a humanitarian ceasefire.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Filippo Grandi has once again appealed to the deadlocked members to support a humanitarian ceasefire.
“One must hope that a ceasefire becomes the first step towards embarking again, finally, on the path towards a solution,” he said, adding that Israel-Palestine peace has been “repeatedly and deliberately neglected”.
“I hope that now, amidst the horrors of war, we can at least see how grave a miscalculation that has been. There will be no peace in the region, and in the world, without a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the end of the Israeli occupation.”
Filippo Grandi
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