Israel continues airstrikes, ground operations in central, southern Gaza

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Friday December 29, 2023

Israel's military continued airstrikes and ground operations aimed at Hamas in northern, central and southern Gaza Thursday, as the military expressed regret after civilians were killed in a Sunday strike on a refugee camp.

Some of the heaviest fighting has been reported in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The U.N. humanitarian office has warned that intensified fighting in the Gaza Strip, frequent communications disruptions, blocked roads and a lack of fuel are posing “significant challenges to humanitarian operations.”

The Israeli military Thursday said it “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians” in the Sunday airstrike that hit the Maghazi refugee camp. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said at least 70 people were killed.

A military statement said Israeli warplanes hit two targets “adjacent to which Hamas operatives were located” and an initial investigation showed that other buildings nearby were also hit, causing “unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians.”

As Israel remains focused on its campaign to eliminate the militant group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and others, French President Emmanuel Macron called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to work toward a sustainable cease-fire with the help of regional and international partners.

On October 7, Hamas militants poured over the border with Israel and attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israel. Hamas also seized around 240 hostages, of whom 129 remain in Gaza.

In response, Israel vowed to crush Hamas and launched an air, land and sea attack on Gaza. The Israeli offensive has left vast parts of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 21,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The Israeli military says 167 of its troops have been killed.

West Bank violence

In the West Bank, Israel’s military said its forces carried out a raid Thursday, targeting people alleged to have helped finance Hamas. An Israel Defense Forces statement said it arrested 21 people and confiscated tens of millions in Israeli currency in the West Bank operation.

Israeli forces also carried out an airstrike in Jenin and ground troops fired on Palestinians in response to what the military said were people firing at Israeli troops.

The West Bank raid was the latest in a long series of operations that Israel has carried out there, saying its forces are conducting counterterrorism activities.

The U.N. human rights office issued a report Thursday saying the human rights situation in the West Bank has “deteriorated rapidly” since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said it verified 300 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank since October 7, with 291 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers and one killed by either Israeli forces or settlers.

The report said most of the deaths took place during confrontations and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops, including at protests and as Israeli troops conducted operations in Palestinian towns.

"The use of military tactics means and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling," Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said.

Turk called on Israel to take action to stop settler violence and investigate all incidents of violence by settlers and Israeli forces.

Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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