Israeli forces wage 'fierce battles' against Hamas in Gaza
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are continuing their offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. After launching the ground operation last weekend, Israeli troops continue to advance in the Palestinian enclave with the backing of the air force.
The Israeli army speaks of "fierce battles" in Gaza, where in recent hours the IDF has attacked a Hamas outpost, as well as sites used to launch anti-tank missiles and observation posts. They have also seized weapons and announced the killing of "dozens of terrorists", including Nasim Abu Ajina, a Hamas commander who organised and planned the attacks on southern Israeli communities on 7 October.
These latest operations in Gaza come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically ruled out a ceasefire. "The calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism," the Israeli leader said, referring to UN demands for a truce.
"This will not happen", Netanyahu stressed during a press conference where he also pledged that Israel "will fight until we win this battle".
In addition to the offensive against Hamas in Gaza, Israeli forces have managed to rescue Ori Megidish, a soldier kidnapped by the terrorist group on 7 October. Despite this good news, which has been celebrated in Israel in style, there are still more than 200 hostages in Gaza, including babies, children and the elderly.
Three of these hostages - Yelena Trupanov, Danielle Aloni and Rimon Kirsht - have been featured in a propaganda video recently released by Hamas in which they have been sharply criticising the Israeli prime minister for security lapses and for not carrying out a prisoner exchange.
The Israeli media have published images of the video, but have declined to reproduce it in full as they consider the women's statements to be the result of coercion by terrorists. For his part, Netanyahu has described the video as "cruel psychological propaganda".
In addition to responding to the ground offensive with the video of the three hostages in order to divide society and damage the Israeli government, Hamas continues to launch rockets at Israel, especially at the south and centre.
This is the second time Hamas has released a video showing some of the hostages. A few weeks ago the Islamist group released footage of Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli who was kidnapped at the music festival near the Gaza border.
Freeing the hostages is the top priority of the Israeli army and government. So much so that Mossad director David Barnea travelled to Qatar last weekend to discuss the issue with senior Qatari officials, Axios revealed. Doha is currently the main mediator between Israel and Hamas, as well as a major backer of the Islamist group.
Houthis again launch attacks on Israeli city of Eilat
Hezbollah, meanwhile, continues its attacks against northern Israel, forcing thousands of people to evacuate the area. In this regard, according to The Times of Israel, Esmail Qaani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, is in Lebanon to coordinate a possible wider confrontation with Israel.
Yemen's Houthi rebels, another militia linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran, have also - for the third time - launched attacks against Israel. The 'Arrow' air defence system intercepted a missile launched from the "Red Sea area" towards Israel, more specifically towards Eilat, the city where many of the survivors of the 7 October massacres were evacuated.
The Tehran-backed militia has acknowledged responsibility for the attacks, claiming to have launched a "large number" of thousands of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel. They have also threatened to continue the attacks.
Growing concern over the situation in the West Bank
Meanwhile, tension continues to rise in the West Bank after the IDF demolished the house of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official exiled in the Palestinian territory. On the ruins of his house, the Israeli army has left a banner reading "Hamas=Daesh".
Since the beginning of the war against Hamas in Gaza, violence has also increased in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out several anti-terrorist raids that have left hundreds dead, according to the Palestinian authorities.
Because of this delicate situation, the Israeli security service Shin Bet has conveyed its concerns to the government, warning of a possible outbreak of violence in the West Bank, local media reported. "These incidents are likely to inflame the area" and damage the war effort against Hamas, Israeli sources say.
The Shin Bet has also announced, together with the Israel Police, the arrest of three Israelis accused of links to Daesh. "The citizens, residents of Sakhnin and Arrabe, were suspected of planning activities that posed security risks amid the ongoing conflict," reports The Jerusalem Post.
"Gaza tunnels are for Hamas fighters, not civilians"
Amid the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the severe humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave where, according to local authorities - controlled by Hamas - more than 8,000 people have already died, a senior official of the terrorist group has acknowledged that the tunnels are only for "fighters".
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said during a recent interview with Russia Today TV that the large and deep network of tunnels in Gaza was built "to protect Hamas fighters from air strikes, not civilians".
"Hamas fights Israel from inside the tunnels," he added. Abu Marzouk also said that since 75 per cent of Gaza Strip residents are refugees, "it is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect them".
Hamas has been accused of using Gazan civilians as human shields, placing ammunition and weapons under schools, hospitals and mosques. Similarly, according to the IDF, the terrorist organisation's main base of operations is under the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.