Israel’s defense minister says Hamas is “on the verge of dismantling” in northern Gaza.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Israel in October in Lebanon used white phosphorus munitions which is banned from use against civilians under international law.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israeli troops are encircling Hamas’ last two strongholds in northern Gaza, adding that Hamas battalions in the Jabalya and Shejaiya areas were “on the verge of dismantling.”
The defense minister added that the Hamas fighters that have already surrendered said they are short of weapons and food.
He went on to say that Israeli forces are “near a breaking point in the northern Gaza Strip”, calling upon remaining Hamas fighters to surrender, as he promised to spare their lives if they do so.
The comments come as the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency announced last week that more than 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters had been captured over the past month.
Gaza’s health ministry reported that over 18-thousand Palestinians have now been killed since the start of the armed conflict.
The ministry spokesperson also reported that the bodies of 208 dead Palestinians were transferred to hospitals in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, with over 400 others injured during that time.
He called on medical teams around the world to go to the Gaza Strip to help with life-saving operations for the wounded Gazans, stressing that hundreds of wounded people are seeking treatment.
Meanwhile, according to a report by the Washington Post on Monday, Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an October attack in southern Lebanon that injured at least nine civilians.
According to the report, a journalist working for The Post found remnants of three 155-millimeter artillery rounds fired into Dheira, near the border of Israel.
The attacks incinerated at least four homes.
The rounds were said to have been saturated with white phosphorous that burns at high temperatures.
Despite accusations of war crimes by human rights groups, the Israel Defense Forces said that white phosphorous shells launched by Israel are used to create smokescreens, not for targeting or causing fires, adding that it “complies and goes beyond the requirements of international law.”
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=263062
