Israeli troops continue to increase operations inside the Gaza Strip. The military spokesperson announced this according to which during the night “dozens of terrorists who had barricaded themselves in buildings and tunnels attempting to attack the soldiers were killed”. In one clash – he added – an aircraft, directed by ground troops, hit a training site inside a building with over 20 Hamas terrorists.” In recent days, over 600 targets have been hit.
Every civilized country should stand with Israel and request the release of the hostages from Hamas without conditions, Israel will not cease fire”: the Israeli prime minister said this Benyamin Netanyahu at press conference. “Ceasefire calls are demands for Israel to surrender to Hamas, and that will not happen,” Netanyahu added, urging the international community to join his country in calling for the “immediate and unconditional” release of the hostages held hostage in Gaza.
«There is a time for peace and a time for war: this is the time of war», Netanyahu added, as Tel Aviv increasingly significantly expands its troop presence north of the Gaza Strip after it carried out the heaviest bombing since the start of the war and a communications blackout in the Strip over the weekend. The Israeli army “advances in a measured but very powerful manner within the Gaza Strip”, the “third phase of the war” against Hamas begins, adds Netanyahu who excludes any possibility of a ceasefire. Israeli forces are advancing in two directions towards Gaza City, with the probable aim of cutting the main road axis connecting the north and south of the Strip.
Tajani: “14 Italians in Gaza, including two pregnant women”
“We are following minute by minute 14 Italians and 5 of their family members who are in the red zone of the Gaza Strip,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Rtl 102.5. «Among them there are two pregnant women, we are worrying about their conditions. At the moment they have all been contacted by our consulate in Jerusalem. Certainly the situation is very complicated in Gaza.”
Tajani: “The first Italian aid plane is leaving for Gaza”
«This morning the first Italian aid plane will arrive in Egypt in cooperation between the Ministry of Defence, Foreign Affairs, the UN and the Red Crescent». This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on RTL, specifying that «the ambassador will be there to organize the distribution through the Red Crescent. From Egypt they will be sent to the Rafah crossing.” «We will continue to send further humanitarian aid tomorrow to reduce the difficulties of the Palestinian people which have nothing to do with the Hamas terrorists», added Tajani.
Tank overturns, Israeli soldier dead: 2 injured
An Israeli reserve soldier died last night and two others were injured after a tank overturned in northern Israel, the IDF announced today. Yinon Fleishman, 31, of Jerusalem, is the victim. The two injured are an officer and a private, both belonging to the reserves. The Israel Defense Forces did not specify the reason for the armored vehicle overturning.
Air raid in Syria on an Iranian Pasdaran base
An Iranian Pasdaran military base was hit overnight in eastern Syria on the border with Iraq by an air attack conducted by unidentified military jets. This was reported by the National Observatory for Human Rights in Syria, according to which the raid targeted the base of the 47th Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran) stationed in Abukamal, on the border between Syria and Iraq. There is currently no news of victims.
Military infrastructure hit in Syria
The Israeli military said it carried out attacks on military infrastructure inside Syria, as fears grow that its war against Hamas could spark a wider regional conflict. “An IDF fighter jet attacked the launchers” from which the overnight attacks launched towards Israeli territory, the army said. The Israeli jet “hit military infrastructure in Syrian territory”. The army did not provide further details, but according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan News, the attacks took place near the southern Syrian city of Daraa. Today the Syrian Defense Ministry said that Israel struck “from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting two positions of our armed forces in the Daraa countryside, causing some material losses.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel targeted army positions, including “an artillery battalion” in Daraa province, in response to shelling in the nearby occupied Golan Heights.