Israel make gains in combat against Hamas in southern Gaza

Israeli tanks attempted to advance farther west on Monday in their conflict with Hamas in and around Khan Younis, the capital of the southern Gaza Strip, as UN representatives reaffirmed their demands for an end to hostilities in order to prevent a humanitarian disaster.

The fighting in Khan Younis occurs as Israel, having pounded northern Gaza and driven most of the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave from their homes, is refocusing its more than two-month-long war effort towards the south.

In an attempt to put pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire, Palestinian activists called for a worldwide strike on Monday in the midst of World Health Organisation allegations of a “catastrophic” health crisis in Gaza.

According to diplomats on Sunday, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote on a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire on Tuesday.

A UN Security Council resolution requesting an urgent ceasefire for humanitarian grounds was rejected by the US on Friday.

At an international summit on Sunday in Doha, the capital of Qatar—which was instrumental in the negotiations of the truce late last month—Arab foreign ministers denounced the U.S. vote.

Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, declared he would “not give up” on calling for a ceasefire.

When Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 1,200 people were killed and 240 were taken captive, sparking the start of hostilities. In retaliation, Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas, a violent Islamist terrorist organisation that has controlled Gaza since 2007.

The health authorities in Gaza report that about 18,000 Palestinians have died and 49,500 have been injured as a result of Israeli bombardment. Over 100 Israeli detainees were released during a week-long ceasefire that came to an end on December 1.

Tanks, according to Khan Younis locals, have arrived along the main north-south road in the city on Sunday. To the west, a region was being attacked by warplanes.

With a population of about 626,000, Guterres claimed the city might be about to collapse due to the risk of infectious illnesses taking over.

In the interim, Israel and Hamas engaged in a war of words on Sunday.

A televised address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the surrender of scores of Hamas fighters. In response, Hamas denied the assertion, claiming to have destroyed 180 Israeli military vehicles. It did not, however, offer any proof.

The main Nasser hospital in Khan Younis reported that hospitals in Gaza were overflowing with Palestinian casualties and injuries.

While the world’s attention has been focused on the military action in the Gaza Strip, fighting between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon has added to concerns about the war expanding.

The Syrian army also stated that on Sunday night, it shot down Israeli rockets that were launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights towards the country’s capital, Damascus.

Damage was caused by other missiles that were not intercepted, the army said in a statement.

Israel is allegedly making “a systematic effort to empty Gaza of its people” and pressuring its citizens to evacuate the region, according to Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi.

“Outrageous and false,” said Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy, his nation was protecting itself “from the monsters who perpetrated the Oct. 7 massacre” and bringing them to justice.

(With agency inputs)

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