06 January 2024 , 22:52
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The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) claims it has "completed the dismantling" of Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters that Palestinian militants are now operating in the area only sporadically and "without commanders". He also said Israel had killed around 8,000 militants in north Gaza, a figure that has not been independently verified.
The spokesman added that the IDF is focusing on dismantling Hamas in south and central Gaza. So far, Israel has killed more than 22,000 people since the conflict began. On Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry said it recorded more than 120 deaths over 24 hours.
Devastation in the territory is on a huge scale, with most of the population - around 2.3 million - displaced. The British Red Cross said that a "desperate humanitarian crisis" is unfolding in the Gaza strip, with winter now approaching the region. Damage to homes and a lack of medical aid, food and fuel has left civilians vulnerable to hypothermia - with children facing the brunt of the war.
The area is now uninhabitable three months into Israel’s war with Hamas, the UN says. Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths warns that all of its 2.3 million people face “daily threats to their very existence”. He added: “People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded and famine is around the corner.”
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Brit Mr Griffiths gave his grim assessment as the war escalates with the involvement of Lebanon. Yesterday Israeli jets blasted Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia after it fired more than 60 rockets at a military base at Mount Meron in northern Israel.
In Gaza, families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet, and areas where Palestinians were told to relocate for their safety have been bombed. One man and his four children were pictured taking refuge in the ruins in Rafah on Friday after his wife died in an attack.
But despite hospitals being completely overwhelmed and the critical shortage of medical supplies, around 180 Palestinian women are giving birth every day. Mr Griffiths says tens of thousands, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured. Hamas puts the death toll at over 22,000.
On October 7, Hamas gunmen launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing 1200 people, and taking around 240 individuals hostage. Since then. Israel has launched a massive offensive, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterating on Saturday that Israel would continue its campaign to "eliminate Hamas, return our hostages and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel".