Israeli army strikes southern Gaza after firing 20 rockets into Israel

Israel struck Monday the south of the Gaza Strip after the firing of 20 rockets against its territory by Palestinian fighters targeted for nearly nine months by a major Israeli offensive. link.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday of a “difficult fight” in the small besieged Palestinian territory, where his army launched its offensive in response to an unprecedented bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7.

In recent months, the army has claimed to have dismantled the command structure of Hamas and its main ally, Islamic Jihad, in northern Gaza and Khan Younes, the largest city in the south, and withdrawn its soldiers from these areas. sectors. But it resumed its operations in several regions of the north to fight Palestinian groups again.

On Monday, the al-Quds brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility rocket attacks on Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip “in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people”.

The army report of a salvo of “20 projectiles” fired from the region of Khan Younès, transformed into a field of ruins during the bombings and the fighting. Projectiles were intercepted and others fell in southern Israel, neighboring Palestinian territory, she said.

Israeli forces then “targeted the origin of the artillery fire,” she added, without reporting any casualties.

– “Difficult fight” –

Palestinians run for cover during an Israeli drone attack in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, June 29, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

For the 5th consecutive day, the Israeli army is continuing a new operation in Choujaiya, a district of Gaza City, targeted by intense artillery fire on Monday and where violent fighting pitted soldiers against Palestinian groups.

Between 60,000 and 80,000 people, according to the UN, fled the east and northeast of Gaza City after the evacuation order given by the army on Thursday.

According to witnesses, several airstrikes shook Rafah (south) and the Nousseirat camp (center).

On May 7, Israeli soldiers launched a ground offensive in the town of Rafah, then presented by Israel as the last major stronghold of Hamas, which led to the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

A protester wears a crown on her head on which is hung a sign with photos of the hostages held in Gaza with the inscription “Get them out of hell”, during a rally in Tel Aviv, June 29, 2024 © AFP – JACK GUEZ

“Our forces are operating in Rafah, Shujaiya, all over Gaza,” declared Benjamin Netanyahu, a week after asserting that the “intense phase” of the war was coming to an end.< /p>

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

“Dozens of terrorists are eliminated every day. It is a difficult fight that we are waging on the ground, sometimes hand-to-hand, and also underground,” he said, referring to the tunnels dug underground by Hamas. since taking power in Gaza in 2007.

– Palestinian detainees released –

A Palestinian man freed by Israeli forces is greeted by his relatives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on July 1 © AFP – Bashar TALEB

On Monday, dozens of Palestinian prisoners, including the director of Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, were released by Israel, according to a Palestinian medical source.

An AFP correspondent in Deir el-Balah saw some of them reuniting with their relatives and hugging them at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Deir al-Balah, where they were transferred.

M. Netanyahu says he wants to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages taken during the October 7 attack in southern Israel are released.

Palestinians freed by Israeli forces arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 1, 2024 © AFP – Bashar TALEB

This led to the death of 1,195 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count established using official Israeli data. Of 251 people kidnapped during the attack, 116 are still being held hostage in Gaza, among whom 42 are dead, according to the army.

Israel has vowed to destroy the Hamas, which he considers terrorist as do the United States and the European Union. Its offensive in Gaza has so far left 37,877 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.

– Humanitarian disaster –

The war has caused massive population displacements and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where the Israeli army besieges the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants who live in conditions described as “disastrous” by the UN.

A man waves the Hezbollah party flag, with an Israeli military position (in the background), in the village of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, near the border with northern Israel, on 29 June 2024 © AFP – -, –

Humanitarian aid is arriving in trickles and water and food are in short supply. Thousands of children suffer from malnutrition according to the World Health Organization (WHO) which, in mid-June, reported “32 deaths attributed to malnutrition, including 28 among children under five years old” .

In Deir el-Balah, a pharmacist, Sami Hamid, said that “the number of skin infections has increased, particularly scabies, and chickenpox s “is spread, particularly due to the heat and the lack of clean water. The consequences are disastrous, especially for children.”

The war also raises fears. a conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah after an increase in attacks on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border and an escalation of threats.

All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse