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Central Gaza destroyed by Israeli attack
On the first day of the new year, drone footage showed Israeli airstrikes destroying residential buildings in Deir Bala, central Gaza.
Israel’s new foreign minister said Tuesday at his inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem that Israel is “in the midst of World War III against Iran and Islamic extremists.”
Israel Katz, who swapped the post of energy and infrastructure minister with former Foreign Minister Eli Cohen under a replacement agreement, said his top priority was bringing home hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“Our efforts as a country and as a ministry are first to bring the hostages home with new initiatives and to apply global pressure,” Katz said in a Times of Israel translation.
“My message to (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) officials was simple…Priorities: Hostages, Hostages, Hostages. This is our promise to our people and their families,” Katz wrote on social media.
Katz also stressed the importance of gaining global support for the war against Hamas, which began after the militants’ brutal border attack on October 7, and vowed to “achieve our goal of defeating Hamas.” .
Israel’s plans were thwarted: Court rejects key parts of Netanyahu’s judicial reforms amid troop withdrawal
Developmental status:
■ The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will leave the area and return to its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, “within the next few days,” the Navy announced. President Biden ordered the ship to head to the Mediterranean a day after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, with the amphibious assault ship Bataan and her accompanying warships replacing the carrier.
∎ Palestinian health workers were vaccinating children in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after UNICEF said it had distributed at least 600,000 doses of the vaccine. UNICEF estimates that more than 16,600 infants have missed one or more routine immunizations due to combat or displacement.
Heavy fighting was reported in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was withdrawing thousands of troops for economic reasons but would continue fighting until Hamas was eliminated. It was done.
∎ Israeli Spokesperson Eilon Levy Said Israel will go to the International Court of Justice to challenge South Africa’s “absurd” claims accusing Israel of genocide. Mr Levy accused South Africa of providing “political and legal cover” to Hamas for the October 7 attack on Israel. The militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 240 hostages.
Hamas political leaders have dismissed a New York Times report that accused militants of sexually assaulting an Israeli woman during an October 7 attack on an Israeli border area. Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas politburo, accused the Times and other Western media of being biased against “what Israeli propaganda says” and against Palestinians and their resistance to Israeli occupation.
USA TODAY also published a report documenting similar allegations against extremists. The Times’ report on October 7 was based on a two-month investigation that showed “attacks against women are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of violence against women.” said.
“We call on the New York Times to correct its misleading reporting, distance itself from Israeli propaganda, and uphold its professionalism and reputation,” Naim said.
Israeli forces have captured Hamas’s main information and control center in Gaza City, military officials announced on Tuesday. The Israeli military said in a statement that the “Mizrachi outpost,” which includes an operations room for managing the fighting across the Gaza Strip, is spread over 37 buildings near residential buildings, schools and hospitals. The site’s network of tunnels and underground control bunkers housed long-term living quarters and weapons storage for Hamas military commanders, the statement said.
“All terrorists have been eliminated,” the statement said. “The 601st Engineer Battalion and Yarham units destroyed the entire route of the tunnel.”
The Israeli military said it had seized a long-range rocket inside a house in central Gaza and discovered dozens of rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons in a nearby civilian building. The Israeli military said in a statement that included photos and videos of the weapon that the rocket had been destroyed and the weapon seized. Israeli authorities have defended the Gaza attack, which killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, saying Hamas militants were using civilians as human shields.
“We are here in a family home with a living room, kitchen, children’s room and a military storage area on the ground floor,” the statement said. “Here you can see a honeycomb of long-range rockets, mortars and other equipment used against our troops.”
Contributed by: Associated Press
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