Israeli forces advance in Gaza, pursuing Hamas leader
The Israeli military continues its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, attacking from all directions after capturing the major city of Khan Yunis, where they are actively pursuing Hamas leader, Yahya Sinouar, on Palestinian territory, reports AFP.
In Khan Yunis, the largest city in southern Gaza, Israeli soldiers, armoured vehicles, and bulldozers have reached the city centre, according to witnesses. The Israeli army stated on Wednesday evening that it had "broken through Hamas' defence lines," "eliminated a number of terrorists," and destroyed around "30 tunnel entrances."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces are "surrounding the house of (Yahya) Sinouar," the Hamas leader in Gaza from Khan Yunis.
"Sinouar is hiding underground," later stated Daniel Hagari, an army spokesperson, referring to the Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza.
The Israeli army also announced the discovery in the northern territory, "in the heart of the civilian population," near a clinic and a school, of a "very large weapons depot," considering it "further evidence" of Hamas' use of "human shields." It also claimed to have killed "half of the Hamas commanders" to date.
On its Telegram channel, the Palestinian Islamist movement clarified that its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, "violently fight against the occupation forces on all incursion lines into the Gaza Strip."
"The entire city is destroyed and constantly bombarded. Many people are arriving from the north in disastrous conditions, homeless, searching for their children," said Hassan Al-Qadi, a resident of Khan Yunis who has been relocated further south to Rafah, a city on the border with Egypt, speaking to AFP.
As the death toll rises, food reserves dwindle, and thousands of displaced individuals remain in misery, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of an "imminent total collapse of law and order" in Gaza.
For the first time in his tenure, Guterres invoked a rare procedure, Article 99 of the UN Charter, allowing him to "draw attention" to the Security Council on an issue that "could jeopardise the maintenance of peace and international security." According to several diplomats, the Security Council is set to convene on Friday to examine this appeal.
"Guterres's mandate is a danger to world peace," countered Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on X (formerly Twitter), arguing that activating Article 99 and calling for a ceasefire "constitutes support for the terrorist organisation Hamas."
According to the Health Ministry of Hamas, 16,248 people, 70% of whom are women, children, and adolescents, have been killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes since October 27.
According to the Israeli government, 138 of the approximately 240 hostages abducted in Israel on October 7 are still held in Gaza, after 105 hostages were released at the end of November, 80 of them in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as part of a seven-day truce.
Israel has pledged to destroy the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in Gaza since 2007, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union, and Israel.
However, the Israeli government approved on Wednesday a "minimal fuel delivery - necessary to avoid a humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics - in southern Gaza," announced the Prime Minister's office on X. The quantity delivered will be "determined as needed" based on the humanitarian situation, it added.
According to the UN, 1.9 million people, approximately 85% of the population, have been displaced due to the war in the Gaza Strip, where more than half of the homes have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli airstrikes.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
