Israel on the defensive anew
The Israeli army says 172 of its soldiers have been killed inside Gaza, with the war showing no signs of stopping
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Daily TribuneThe Israeli army says 172 of its soldiers have been killed inside Gaza, with the war showing no signs of stopping
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The war in Gaza ground into the new year on Monday, with Hamas firing a barrage of rockets at Israel just as the clock struck midnight and two dozen people killed overnight in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.
Air alert sirens sounded across Israel as 2024 began, and AFP journalists in Tel Aviv witnessed missile defense systems intercepting rockets overhead, with some revelers in the streets below rushing for cover while others kept up the party with a shrug.
"We were all afraid on the corners… my heart was pounding," Gabriel Zemelman, 26, said in front of a bar after the rocket fire.
"It's terrifying. You just saw the life we live, it's crazy."
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video published on social media, saying they had fired M90 rockets in "response to the massacres of civilians" carried out by Israel.
The Israeli army confirmed the attack, without initially reporting any casualties or damage.
Surrounded by partiers, server Ran Stahl, 24, said he didn't have the heart to celebrate, not since one of his friends was killed in Hamas' attack on the Supernova music festival.
"The minute I start to dance, I feel guilty — the sadness and mourning come back," he said.
In Gaza, overnight Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with attacks reported across the length of the territory.
The nearly three-month war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's bloody 7 October attacks on Israel, which killed around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Fighters also took around 250 people hostage that day, most of whom remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas in response, launching a punishing offensive in the Gaza Strip that has reduced vast areas to a ruined wasteland and killed at least 21,822 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.
The Israeli army says 172 of its soldiers have been killed inside Gaza, with the war showing no signs of stopping.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that the fighting would last "many months until Hamas is eliminated and the hostages are returned."
In his nightly briefing on Sunday, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said several militants "were killed and subdued during the battles in Khan Yunis" earlier in the day.
"We are continuing to handle the underground tunnels and to strike the rocket launching array, in order to reduce rocket fire into the State of Israel."
"Dozens of aircrafts are in the skies of Gaza at any given moment," he said.
International mediators have continued efforts toward a new pause in fighting.
A Hamas delegation from Qatar visited Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian three-phase plan proposing renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to Hamas said.
WITH AFP
