Iraq tries to distance itself from the Israeli war

As the war in the Gaza Strip entered its second month, Israel managed to divide the Gaza Strip into two halves, northern and southern, which greatly helped it tighten its siege on Gaza city, which it considers the center of the Hamas government, without being able to advance into the city, in the face of… ferocious clashes with the “Al-Qassam Brigades”.

Since the war in Gaza began on October 7, Israel has worked to evacuate the population from the north of the Strip to the south, an objective that remains a priority as forces slowly advance towards Gaza City.

A source from the Palestinian factions in Gaza City told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Israeli army has imposed its siege on Gaza City and is preventing water, food and medicine from reaching residents, in an attempt to force them to leave.

The source adds: “They are using starvation politics in light of violent and unprecedented bombings, targeting water tanks, ovens, hospitals and natural energy sources, to push people into displacement, or perhaps they believe that by doing so they will incite them to resist.”

The source confirmed that the Israeli invading forces are facing fierce resistance on all fronts and are still unable to advance towards the city (Thursday to Monday evening).

The Israeli army confirmed on Monday that it had not entered Gaza city and was engaged in heavy fighting, but imposed a siege on the city and killed the commander of the Hamas-affiliated Deir al-Balah brigade, Wael Abu Asfa, under intelligence service. leadership of the public security service and the military intelligence service.

The army said that Abu Asfa was the commander of the “Deir al-Balah Battalion” in the central region, and participated in sending elite forces to the Gaza area during the attack on October 7, and said planned to undertake further operations after the war. attack.

The army also announced on Monday that it had found more than 50 missiles ready to be fired at Israel, inside a compound in the northern Gaza Strip and on platforms in structures belonging to a mosque, according to its statement.

It said it had taken control of a Hamas movement base in the Gaza Strip, after attacking 450 aerial targets in the last 24 hours, during which Jamal Musa, the Hamas movement’s head of private security, was killed.

According to a statement from the Israeli army spokesperson, the Hamas base seized by the army “included observation points, training complexes and tunnels.”

Among the targets hit by the Air Force were “military compounds, observation points, anti-tank sites… and others.” While naval forces bombed “Hamas headquarters, anti-tank missile launch sites and other observation sites.”

Although the army has not entered Gaza City, its leaders say they are proceeding according to the established plan which is based on slow and measured progress.

But the Hamas-affiliated Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that they were the ones who prevented the advance of Israeli forces. He announced that he would “strike the invading enemy forces” on more than one axis.

Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Al-Qassam, said on Monday: “Al-Qassam mujahideen have destroyed, in whole or in part, 27 military vehicles in combat areas during the last 48 hours. They also attacked the invading forces with dozens of mortar rounds and engaged in direct clashes with enemy forces, inflicting heavy casualties.

The Israeli army has admitted that the number of deaths since the start of the ground operation has risen to 35.

As the ground fighting continued, Israeli newspaper Haaretz expressed concern over the lack of a clear strategy for the ground plan. The newspaper said: “There is concern in the White House and among Biden administration officials about Israel’s lack of a Gaza exit strategy.”

Haaretz added that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is under the impression that the issue has not yet been discussed among members of the mini ministerial council in Israel.

Without a clear strategy to end the ground war, Israel continued to bomb various areas of the Gaza Strip and committed a new massacre in the Maghazi camp, leaving many victims.

Israel concentrated its bombing on fields and nearby hospitals in Gaza City, on bakeries and water tanks, and also bombed the solar panel system in a building in the “Al-Shifa Hospital Complex” in Gaza City.

Particularly violent attacks occurred in the vicinity of Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, on Sunday and Monday.

Israel says the hospital hosts the main base of operations for Hamas, which uses medical facilities, schools and mosques in the Gaza Strip to protect its activities. Accusations that Hamas has denied, and said it was ready to host any independent investigative commission to confirm what happened. falsity of the Israeli accusations.

As the second month of the war began, “the number of victims of Israeli aggression rose to 10,022, including 4,104 children,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry confirmed that the number of victims has reached 25,000 people and that doctors are still forced to perform surgeries without anesthesia, including those who were injured in the shelling and women who gave birth by caesarean section.

It is claimed that there are 1.5 million internally displaced citizens in Gaza, more than 70% of the Strip’s population, where approximately 690,400 citizens live in 149 emergency shelters designated for UNRWA.

121,750 citizens also reside in hospitals, churches and other public buildings, approximately 99,150 in 82 non-UNRWA schools, while the remaining 600,000 displaced people reside with host families, while in recent days 150,000 citizens have moved to reception centers in search of food. and basic services.

According to the Ministry of Health, as of October 29, approximately 1,950 citizens were missing, including at least 1,050 children, who may be trapped or martyred under the rubble waiting to be recovered.

As Israeli bombing of the northern Gaza Strip intensified, the army cleared the way for Salah al-Din to displace residents in the south.

Addressing residents on Monday, the army said it would again allow traffic on Salah al-Din Road between 10am and 2pm.