IDF says it is fighting in the ‘heart of Gaza City’ – Israeli forces have pushed deep into Gaza City, according to an Israel Defence Forces commander. “For the first time in decades, IDF is fighting in the heart of Gaza City. At the heart of terrorism,” Major General Yaron Finkelman said. There was no indication on the ground that Israeli forces had moved en masse into the city, but a spokesperson for the military, Richard Hecht, suggested that the encircling troops could be making raids inside. (Photo: Gaza City).

Tanks were positioned on the outskirts for a potential storming of Gaza’s urban heartland, residents said. “Every day and every hour the forces are killing militants, exposing tunnels and destroying weapons and continuing onward to enemy centres,” Maj Gen Finkelman said. The military wing of Hamas said its fighters were inflicting heavy losses and damage on advancing Israeli forces. It was not possible to verify the battlefield claims of either side.

Biden Asks Netanyahu to Pause Fighting

Joe Biden has said he asked Benjamin Netanyahu for a pause in fighting during a call yesterday. US and Israeli officials told Axios that President Biden said a three-day pause could help secure the release of some hostages in Gaza. A proposal being discussed by the US, Israel and Qatar would see Hamas release 10-15 hostages and use the pause to verify the identities of all the hostages and deliver a list of names of the people it is holding, a US official told the news site. The White House previously said Mr Biden and the Israeli prime minister discussed “the possibility of tactical pauses… to enable potential hostage releases”.

‘Robots and Sniffer Dogs’ Deployed to Find Hamas Tunnels

Israel is starting the next phase of its war against Hamas, targeting the militant group’s labyrinth of tunnels under northern Gaza, five Israeli security sources told Reuters. Robots and sniffer dogs were being deployed to locate entrances and probe areas inside the tunnels before possible action by specialist ground troops, the sources said. Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, said IDF troops were working through a plan to locate tunnels, destroy rocket launching sites, and kill Hamas commanders and fighters. “It’s about eliminating the military spine,” he said.

“It would be very reasonable to say that we’re looking at something that could take months.” Earlier today, chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the IDF had destroyed more than 100 shafts with explosive devices. Israeli forces advancing towards the heart of Gaza City have faced heavy resistance from Hamas fighters using the tunnel network to launch ambushes, two sources with Hamas and another militant group, Islamic Jihad, told Reuters. A fighter appears from one tunnel shaft, fires a rocket-propelled grenade and then disappears, only to appear at another tunnel entrance and attack again, the sources said.

Highest Number of UN Aid Workers Killed in its History

Yesterday we reported how five UN aid workers had been killed in a 24-hour period. Since then, another member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has died in Gaza, bringing the total to 89 since 7 October. “This is the highest number of United Nations aid workers killed in a conflict in the history of the United Nations,” said the UNRWA. The agency has sheltered nearly 725,000 people at its facilities in Gaza.

Medical supply convoy ‘comes under fire’ in Gaza City – A convoy transporting medical supplies to a Gaza hospital came under fire today, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. A driver was wounded and two trucks were damaged in Gaza City, but the supplies were delivered, it said. The convoy of five trucks and two ICRC vehicles was carrying “lifesaving medical supplies” to health facilities including al Quds Hospital before it was hit and altered its route to al Shifa Hospital, said ICRC.

The organisation did not identify the source of the fire.  “These are not the conditions under which humanitarian personnel can work,” said William Schomburg, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza. “Ensuring that vital aid can reach medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.” ICRC, a neutral organisation based in Geneva, has escorted patients and transported freed hostages out of Gaza.

Courtesy: Sky News