Israel kept bombing Gaza with extremely dangerous attacks on Tuesday, forcing over 100,000 people to leave their homes and overwhelming hospitals with injured Palestinians. This happened because Hamas threatened to kill innocent people it had taken as hostages and show their murders on TV if Israel targeted Gaza with airstrikes without giving any warning.
After the militant group made a threat, the ambassador of Israel to the United Nations said in an interview on CNN that their main goal is to destroy the terrorist abilities of Hamas.
“We want everyone who was taken to come back home, but right now, our main goal is to destroy Hamas’ ability to carry out terrorist acts,” Gilad Erdan said, as violence continued on the fourth day, Tuesday.
Around 900 people died and many others got hurt in Israel during a sudden and destructive attack by Hamas. The attack started on Saturday morning when the militant group launched thousands of rockets and sent fighters into Israel. In simple words: Israel has officially declared war on Hamas and has placed a complete blockade on the crowded coastal strip.
Erdan said that around 100 to 150 people are believed to have been taken hostage in Gaza. On Sunday, Hamas said they had more than 100 people they were keeping against their will in Gaza. Some of these people are important officers in the Israeli army.
Erdan said that even though there are hostages in Gaza, it will not stop Israel from doing what they need to do to protect their future.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hamas that the Israeli military will launch a powerful attack on them. He also said that this attack on Hamas in Gaza is just the start, implying that there will be more destruction to come.
“This enemy desired war, and that is what they will receive,” Netanyahu said on Monday, also mentioning that challenging times are still ahead of us.
CNN reporters heard loud explosions and rumbling sounds in Gaza, suggesting that more bombing is happening. They also saw fighter jets in the sky.
Israeli warplanes kept bombing Gaza throughout the night and into Tuesday, attacking more than 200 places in the Rimal and Khan Yunis neighborhoods, as per the Israeli Defense Forces.
Up to now, the bombings have caused the death of at least 687 individuals, including many children and women. In addition, thousands have been injured, as reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry.
It is expected that Israel will launch a big attack on Gaza, possibly with soldiers going in on the ground. However, we do not know exactly how large their response will be.
Israel has sent a lot of soldiers to its border in the south. They have also put tanks and planes along the fence that separates Gaza from Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN about this. The Israeli army has moved people away from the border to keep them safe, and they have asked over 300,000 Israeli reserve soldiers to come and help.
Despite more soldiers being sent to help, Hamas fighters have tried to cross the border between Israel and the south to carry out suicide attacks and harm innocent people and soldiers. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lieutenant Colonel, has given this information. Jonathan Conricus spoke.
We will wait and see what happens on the way and how we do the task. But for now, we keep attacking from above. “And, of course, we have plans to make it bigger,” said Conricus. The soldiers, backup forces, and the normal groups that are coming together at the edge of the southern area are preparing for what they need to do.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have increased the number of soldiers along its border with Lebanon. They have added many more troops in case Hezbollah decides to attack, according to Conricus.
Hezbollah told CNN that three of its members were killed in an Israeli air attack in southern Lebanon on Monday.
The IDF previously stated that it killed armed people who entered Israel from Lebanon. This happened because Hezbollah admitted to attacking three Israeli locations in Shebaa Farms, which Lebanon believes belongs to Israel.
In Gaza, Israel has been using airstrikes as a response. Now, they have ordered a “complete siege” which will stop the delivery of electricity, food, water, and fuel to the Palestinian area.
This place has a lot of people living in a small area. There are about 2 million people living in a space of 140 square miles.
For almost 17 years now, this place has been mostly isolated from the rest of the world. It happened when Hamas took over, and as a result, Israel and Egypt placed strict limits on what can go in or out of the area. This situation is continuing to this day. Israel stops and controls the movement of things like planes and ships going to or from Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced on Monday that it had to shut down all 14 of its food distribution centers in Gaza. This means that around 500,000 individuals are no longer receiving necessary food assistance.
Over half of the people in the country are poor and do not have enough food. Almost 80% of the population depends on help from others.
The Israeli army attacked the Shati and Jabalia refugee camps in Gaza on Monday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. They called the attack a “massacre” against the whole area.
More bombings on a house in Gaza hurt two journalists and one more was injured, said the Government Media Office controlled by Hamas.
According to the head of the media office, Salama Marouf, Saed Al-Taweel and Mohammed Sabah were reporting on the evacuation of a building when they were hit by an Israeli strike. Marouf said that the press members were easy to recognize because they were wearing special clothes and safety equipment with markings that showed they were journalists.
CNN saw a video where Sabah’s body was on a bed, wearing a blue bulletproof vest that said “Press. ” Other journalists were around him. The IDF told CNN they are investigating the report.
At the same time, the ministry said that the Israeli forces intentionally targeted areas where civilians live, medical facilities, and especially people who work to save others, as well as vehicles used for emergencies.
The ministry said that five medical workers were killed in planned attacks in Gaza.
Colonel Jonathan Conricus was asked if the Israeli military was able to tell the difference between civilian places, government sites, and military objectives. Colonel Richard Hecht explained that the difference was not easy to understand.
He said on Tuesday that in buildings where people live, there might be a store for weapons or a person who is in charge of the Hamas group.
Getting medical care has become more difficult because Israel has stopped the electricity in the area. The ministry said that the only hospital in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun neighborhood had to stop all its services because of ongoing Israeli airstrikes. Nine ambulances have been attacked since Saturday, according to the ministry.
Many people who come to hospitals in Gaza have very bad burns and lost limbs, according to a spokesperson from the Palestinian Health Ministry who talked to a Palestinian news agency called Shihab Agency on Monday. Many people have gotten hurt by pieces of metal and other objects that exploded, said Ashraf al-Qidra.
According to al-Qidra, mostly women and children are going to hospitals for treatment because Israeli forces are specifically attacking homes and buildings.
The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) mentioned that its emergency shelters in Gaza are almost full with over 137,000 individuals seeking safety from Israeli attacks. The text mentions that a UN school where families who had to leave their homes were staying was hit, but doesn’t provide more information about it. We don’t know how many people were in the shelter when the attack happened.
Reporting for CNN was done by Richard Allen Greene, Lauren Izso, Nada Bashir, Ibrahim Dahman, Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman, Eyad Kourdi, and Amir Tal.