AFP
Israel floods Hamas tunnels in Gaza and sets red lines for possible truce
Israel announced on Tuesday that it was flooding Gaza tunnels used by Hamas and said it would not withdraw its troops from the Palestinian territories or release “thousands of terrorists” to reach an internationally urged cease-fire. Flooding “is part of the tools” the Israeli military said in a statement “deployed… to neutralize the threat from Hamas’s tunnel network.” Several experts warned last month that flooding tunnels with water pumped from the Mediterranean could pose a threat to Gaza’s besieged civilians pose a danger. The conflict broke out on October 7 with an incursion by Islamic commandos that killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, and about 250 people were kidnapped in southern Israel, according to the southern region. Agence France-Presse reported, based on official Israeli data, that about a hundred hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during the week-long truce at the end of November. There are still 132 people detained in Gaza and an estimated 28 people have died. According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, Israel’s offensive to “annihilate” Hamas has so far killed 26,751 people, mostly women, children and minors. The Gaza Strip has been ruled by Hamas since 2007. – Pressure for truce – US intelligence chief William Burns met with senior Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials in Paris on Sunday to outline high-level plans for the fire. Hamas confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a proposal and was “studying” it. The movement’s top official, Taher al-Nunu, insisted that Hamas wanted “a complete and complete ceasefire, not a temporary truce.” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the The plan includes a gradual ceasefire that would initially allow the release of women and children held hostage in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to enter the territory. A November truce allowed for the exchange of hostages held in Gaza but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set limits on the concessions he could make. “We will not withdraw our troops from the Gaza Strip, nor will we release thousands of terrorists. None of this will happen,” he stressed. International pressure comes from concerns about the spread of the conflict, which will increase tensions in the region. Joe President Biden confirmed he was not seeking an escalation of the conflict but said he had already decided how to respond to an Iranian drone strike in Jordan that killed three Iranian soldiers. “I don’t think we need a broader war in the Middle East. “This is not what I want,” he said, without giving further details about the steps he decided to take. The announcement came shortly after Kataib Hezbollah, an influential pro-Iran militia group in Iraq, “suspended” military operations. “Americans,” “to avoid inconveniencing the Iraqi government.” – Khan Younis, center of fighting – In the Gaza Strip, fighting is concentrated in the enclave of Khan Younis in the south, with dwindling attacks by another Palestinian armed group, Islamic Jihad, reporting near the town and in other parts of the Strip, including in the north. City) clashed with Israeli forces. Dozens of people were killed in the southernmost city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. According to Palestinian sources, a large number of bodies were buried in mass graves after Israel returned exhumed Palestinian remains. – UNRWA is a “front” for Hamas, according to Israel – More than 80% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have become internally displaced According to the United Nations, Israel imposed a “total siege” on the territory on October 9 , preventing the entry of water, food, fuel and medicine. Most residents are at risk of famine and disease. Twelve countries, including the United States, Britain, Japan and Germany, last week suspended their requests to the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) funding after Israel accused a dozen of the agency’s employees of involvement in the October 7 attack. 14 In a joint statement, the UN agencies warned that cutting the funding “will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza” and “ “It will lead to the collapse of the humanitarian system in the territory”. UN Gaza Aid Coordinator, Sigrid Kaag said that no organization can “replace or replace” UNRWA’s “tremendous capabilities, structures: the skills of the people of Gaza” and knowledge. Israel instead assured that UNRWA was a “front line” for Hamas, allowing it to “use its facilities for military activities.” ”burs-jd/dv/spm/jvb/js/dbh