The Israeli forces pressed on with their campaigns around the area of Khan Younis in the southern part of Gaza on Monday while global efforts to seek for a ceasefire to avoid a larger war that potentially involves Iran and its allies. Palestinian doctors said that at least 18 people were killed in airstrikes on Khan Younis by Israelis and some others were critically wounded. People, mostly families, continued to flee the parts, which they deemed to be under new threat of attack. Also, reported strikes on Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City with seven persons reported and airstrikes on Rafah which cost dozes of lives.
In as much as the conflict continued, Hamas raised doubts about the scheduled Egypt and Qatar brokered dialogue set for Thursday. The group said that it has not seen any sign of disposed from Israel to build constructively. Further, in the letter, Hamas called on mediators to compel Israel to agree to adopt a ceasefire plan that the organisation has already endorsed and which contains some suggestions from U.S. President Joe Biden. Close sources revealed that Hamas believes that the call for talks was in cooperation with Israel so that responses from Iran and Hezbollah cannot be made after the murder of Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the assassination of a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon.
A Palestinian official, privy to the mediation, pointed out that, while Hamas has agreed to seek the workable plan, it is not convinced that Israel, under Prime Minister Netanyahu, is sincere. At the same time, situations warmed as USA sent new military forces and equipment to the region: a guided missile submarine and the Abraham Lincoln strike group due to threats of large-scale Iranian military attacks on Israel as informed by Axel News.
To this end, the Israeli forces have conducted large-scale operations in the Gaza Strip resulting to massive destruction of property and displacement of majority of the residents. As per the Palestinians health minister, over 40,000 population expired and it became an issue of global concern. On Saturday, the Israeli airforce attacked a school in Gaza City to eliminate armed personnel of Hamas and Islamic Jihad which led to enourmous loss of lives. Yet they both insisted that their fighters were not at the scene when the attack occurred. In its own military reports, the Palestinian heath authorities state that 90 per cent of victims are civilians, while the Israel Defense Forces claim that more than 30 per cent of the dead were fighters. According to the Israel’s data, 330 soldiers have been killed in the conflict.
Israel has been very vigilant since the recent missile attack last month that claimed lives of young people in Golan Heights, where the retaliatory action killed a Hezbollah militant in Beirut. This was followed by the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, a situation that would attract threats of reprisals from Iran. It has been 11 months now since the fighting started and this conflict has greatly escalated unrest in the Middle East. The worst attack occurred on October 7, when Hamas fired rockets at Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza; 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 250 kidnapped, thus, it was one of the gravest acts of aggression in the history of Israel.