Israel concludes operations in central Gaza as hopes grow for truce

The Israeli Army concluded its ground incursion into the center of Loopconcentrated in Deir al Balah, Bureij and Nuiserat and whose main objective was to rescue the four hostages, while pressure increases for a truce after the approval of a resolution in the UN Security Council with a plan for the end of the war.

“Soldiers of the 98th Division, including the Parachute Brigade, Kfir Brigade, 7th Brigade and Yahalom Soldiers, carried out a variety of operations that contributed to the success of Operation ‘Arnon’“The Army detailed in a statement about Saturday’s rescue operation, during which more than 270 Gazans also died.

In the note, they point out that in recent days the 98th Division killed about a hundred suspected militants in the east of Deir al Balah, where they also located weapons and destroyed Hamas infrastructure.

“There are still 120 hostages in Gaza and we will not stop until we bring them home, that is what we have committed to. Also to destroy the enemy on the other side and dismantle their underground and surface infrastructure“said, according to the statement, the commander of this division, Dan Goldfus, before the soldiers who participated in the rescue of the four captives.

The fourth attempt at the UN

The UN resolution, which had 14 votes in favor on Monday and the only abstention from Russia, is the fourth approved by the Security Council on the war in Gaza, although the previous three remained a dead letter after the contempt of the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the continuation of the offensive that has already left Gaza devastated.

The UN body thus gave support to the United States truce proposal, launched ten days ago, divided into three phases and which now urges the two parties to implement the terms of the proposal without delay or conditions, including “an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages”.

In recent hours, Israel has once again insisted that it will not put a definitive end to the war before achieving its three objectives: undermine Hamas’s military and civilian capabilities, make it no longer a threat to Israel, and bring home the 116 hostages still held captive as of October 7.

“The proposal that was presented allows Israel to meet these objectives and we will do so“An Israeli official said Tuesday about the UN Security Council resolution, which establishes a three-phase plan to end hostilities in Gaza.

The Islamist group Hamas, for its part, expressed its satisfaction with this resolution on Tuesday and said it was willing to “cooperate” with the mediators to implement it.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, indicated today that the reaction of the Islamist group to the peace proposal is a “hopeful sign”, but they are still waiting for an official response from Hamas.

“If Hamas doesn’t say yes, then this is clearly up to them in terms of the security, the well-being of hundreds of thousands, millions of Palestinian women, children and men in Gaza.“Blinken explained to journalists at the Tel Aviv airport before heading to Jordan, on his eighth tour of the region.

Food insecurity grows in Gaza

Meanwhile, the Strip remains under Israeli fire after 249 days of war and on the last day the Israeli Army killed 40 Gazans and wounded another 120, as reported on Tuesday by the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas.

“The Israeli occupation committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip“, denounced the authorities of the Strip in a statement, which increased the death toll to 37,164, mostly women and children, and the number of injured to 84,832.

According to OCHA, more than a million people in the Strip face “catastrophic levels of food insecurity” and more than 96% of women and children do not consume the necessary nutrients due to the lack of diversity in the diet.