Israel’s chief military spokesperson announced on Friday that the country is intensifying air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip in response to reports of intense bombardment of the besieged region.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at a televised press briefing, “In the last hours, we intensified the attacks in Gaza.” He also mentioned that the air force was carrying out significant strikes against tunnels and other infrastructure.
Hagari stated, “In addition to the attacks carried out in the last few days, ground forces are expanding their operations tonight,” which raised the possibility that the much-discussed ground invasion of Gaza was about to commence.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that he had read reports that Israel was increasing its ground operations in Gaza but declined to comment.
300,000 reservists and troops have been gathered by Israel outside of Gaza in anticipation of the raid against Hamas. Since Hamas’ devastating October 7 attack on Israel, which claimed the lives of 1,400 people, including children, Israeli warplanes have been pounding Gaza. Over 200 hostages were also taken by Hamas.
According to Kirby, the United States is in favour of an Israeli military standstill in order to provide electricity, gasoline, and humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza as well as, if feasible, to free the hostages held by Hamas.
Jawwal, a Palestinian mobile phone service provider, said earlier on Friday that intense bombardment had disrupted phone and internet access.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society claimed in a statement that it has lost all communication with all of its teams working on the ground and its operations office in Gaza.
Vote in the General Assembly
The U.N. General Assembly on Friday unanimously urged safety for people and aid access to the beleaguered Gaza Strip, as well as an emergency humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
READ ALSO: Israel instructs the UN to ask Hamas for fuel
With 120 votes in favour and 45 abstentions, including those from Israel and the US, the resolution written by Arab states was approved. After the Security Council failed to act four times in the last two weeks, the General Assembly cast a vote. “Infamy” is how Israel described the U.N. resolution.
While the entire community is concerned about the worsening circumstances for the 2.3 million people besieged under the most intense bombings Israel has ever carried out on the Mediterranean enclave, Israel is refusing pleas for a temporary truce in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat stated on Friday that “Israel is opposed to a humanitarian pause or cease-fire at this time,” while a senior official claimed that suggestions for a fighting halt appeared to be made in “poor faith.”
Hamas hailed the proposal for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza made by the General Assembly.
Senior Hamas political bureau member Ezzat al-Rishaq declared late on Friday that Hamas was prepared for an Israeli invasion of Gaza. ““The resistance is ready if [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu decided to enter Gaza tonight,” he stated on the social media platform Telegram.
After the killing on October 7, Israeli officials have promised to make sure Hamas can no longer threaten Israel with assaults.
Residents in the Gaza Strip are running out of food, water, and other supplies as Israeli bombings are destroying large areas of the region.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, over 7,000 individuals have died in Gaza, the most of them were women and children. Over 2,900 juveniles and over 1,500 women are included in the comprehensive list of names and ID numbers published by the ministry, which keeps track of the death toll, on Thursday.
According to Reuters, World Health Organisation official Richard Peeperkorn stated on Friday that the organisation had estimates of 1,000 unidentified dead under rubble in Gaza that were not yet included in death tolls. The source was not mentioned by Peeperkorn.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, announced during an early Friday press conference that 57 staff members have died in Gaza since the start of the conflict, including 15 in a single day.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and The Associated Press provided some of the information for this article.
