Israeli forces say Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza, prompting thousands of Palestinians to flee.
As they press on with their offensive targeting Hamas’ tunnels.the U.S continues to seek a humanitarian pause for hostages to be released.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
According to Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari during a televised briefing on Wednesday, Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza,.. as thousands of Gazans have moved south.
The spokesperson said some 50-thousand Palestinians moved from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, adding that “they’re moving because they understand that Hamas has lost control in the north.”
While Hagari reiterated the government’s stance that there will be no ceasefire, he said Israel has been allowing humanitarian pauses at specific times to allow Gazans to relocate south.
In a press release, also on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces claimed it had destroyed 130 Hamas tunnel shafts, as it continues with its air and ground operations in Gaza.
According to the statement,.. combat engineers fighting in Gaza are destroying Hamas’ weapons and are “locating, exposing and detonating tunnel shafts.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. is closely discussing with Israel and Qatar, a proposal for a pause in fighting in Gaza of up to three days, which would allow the delivery of more humanitarian aid and the possible release of some hostages held by Hamas.
While Israel has made it clear that a humanitarian ceasefire would come only if the Palestinian militant group releases all 240 hostages, a senior Arab source familiar with the discussions said there was hope that a deal could still be reached, adding that the parties involved are at a “critical stage of the negotiations.”
A diplomat briefed on the matter said that a pause of one to three days could allow the release of 10 to 15 hostages, and also give Hamas time to gather information of the identities and locations of all the hostages in order to secure the release of dozens more.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=261468
