02 November 2023 , 21:21
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Israel's ground troops were “at the height of the battle” for Gaza City on Thursday as the US called for a pause in the fighting.
President Biden suggested a break would allow time for Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas, amid reports 3,760 Palestinian children had been killed in Gaza’s deadliest war. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation: “We’re at the height of the battle. We’ve had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing.”
Brigadier General Itzik Cohen of the Israel Defence Forces confirmed his troops were “at the gates” of the city. From the city of Sderot, two miles from the border with Gaza, the Mirror watched as Israeli military bombarded the Strip, which has been hit at least 10,000 times since October 7.
Israeli soldiers at the funeral of a comrade (AFP via Getty Images)The Jabalia refugee camp, flattened by an IDF strike on Tuesday, was targeted again, with Israel saying it had targeted a high-ranking Hamas commander there. Almost 200 people were killed, according to Hamas, taking the death toll to more than 9,000 since the Israeli bombardments began.
Authorities also said 15 people were killed and scores trapped in a strike on the Bureij refugee camp. Israeli officials say 18 IDF soldiers have been killed since its forces began their ground offensive. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari confirmed more troops entered Gaza as they stepped up their ground operation.
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He said: “Our troops eliminated dozens of terrorists. We are carrying out an expanded ground operation into the Strip... and we are attacking them from the air.” The main generator in Gaza Strip’s Indonesian Hospital, near the wreckage of the Jabalia camp, lost power. Officials have been begging local petrol stations to spare fuel for the hospital and Al Shifa medical complex.
Mums-to-be are facing C sections without anaesthetic, carried out by torchlight, as 130 newborn babies in incubators face a fight for life. New mother Nisreen Muhammad, 32, said: “I waited for hours and hours in severe pain. I was not given painkillers, but panic over the health of my baby was worse. She was supposed to be on a respirator but there were worse cases than ours.”
Before and after: Craters in the Jabalia refugee camp (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Tech)While some aid trucks have entered the blockaded Strip since the war began, Israel has not allowed trucks to bring fuel. Officials in Westminster confirmed efforts are under way to release more British citizens from Gaza, after two aid workers from the UK were among hundreds of foreign nationals able to flee through the Rafah crossing, alongside seriously injured Palestinians.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said it was proving “very difficult” to secure humanitarian pauses in the conflict but the UK would keep pushing “for as long as it takes”. According to sources, Hamas and Israel were close to a deal which would have resulted in the release of women and children held in Gaza, but the agreement fell through when Israel launched its ground operation. Hamas’s current offer is “all for all” – releasing all 229 confirmed hostages in exchange for 5,200 Palestinians held in Israel. Saudi Arabia has launched a campaign to raise funds for the people of Gaza. King Salman has donated £6.5m.
Deserted town is full of misery
In Sderot London Street is deserted. It’s 11.30am and usually this street would be full of workers and cars. An industrial estate where every single factory, warehouse and shop is closed. Not a single car passed. Sderot is one of several towns near the Gaza border where Israelis have fled. One family went so quickly that they left their washing on the line.
In two hours we saw only one civilian, a man watering his plants. He told us that he was the only person left in the town. Outside the town at Sapir College, president Nir Kedar said: “At least 10 members of our community have been killed. The staff are scattered throughout the country. Some fled in their underwear.”
There will be no let-up in fight to isolate Hamas
Analysis by Chris Hughes
As Israeli troops battle into Gaza City, the increasingly called-for ceasefire, looks increasingly unlikely. The Israeli Defence Force has momentum and is making real gains against Hamas to keep its enemy on the defensive. Any break in the air, sea and land attack will give Hamas a chance to re-arm and send more combatants into the battle for Gaza City.
And it is just possible that the IDF’s strategy on the ground, whilst brutal in terms of civilian losses, may save more lives than if they assaulted in any other way. They are trying to separate Hamas from the Palestinian civilians they have repeatedly told to head south. On the ground, Israel’s forces have driven a wedge into Wadi Gaza in the middle of the strip and this separates the north from the relatively safer south of Gaza.
Hamas must decide whether to send reinforcements into the north or stay put, leaving those there isolated, having to fight to the death. Any lull in fighting would give Hamas time to drive the IDF out of the Wadi and reconnect the strip, thereby regaining control. The IDF has advanced into the north west, two miles inside Gaza and taken control of an area along the strip’s north western beach.
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And in the north east, several tank and infantry incursions appear to be driving further wedges between Hamas’ northern positions. All of this means Gaza City may soon be cut off and surrounded, stopping Hamas from re-arming, except, perhaps, through an increasingly narrowing corridor.
And that is likely where the hostages are being kept. For now, I do not believe the Israelis will entertain anything more than a slight lull in the fighting. And that would be to manoeuvre to their advantage.