DrAn Israeli military spokesman described the military structure of the Islamic Hamas movement in the northern Gaza Strip as disjointed. Hamas spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Saturday that before the war began three months ago, Hamas had two brigades of 12 regiments in the northern coastal sector. “In total there were about 14,000 terrorists,” Hajjari said. Since then, many leaders have been killed and weapons and ammunition destroyed. The soldiers found underground tunnels and demolished them.
Hajari said that in the Jabalia refugee area in the northern part of the Gaza Strip alone, eight kilometers of underground tunnels and 40 entrances were found. Hamas no longer operates in an organized manner in this area. “There are still terrorists in Jabalia, but now they are acting without a framework and without leaders.” But he expects sporadic missile attacks on Israel from this region to continue.
The army is now focusing on destroying Hamas buildings in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Hagari stressed that this will take time and the fighting will continue throughout the year.
The Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip
Source: OpenStreetMap; The world of infographics
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7:33 pm – Thousands of Israelis in new protests against Netanyahu
Thousands of people participated in protests in Israel against right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Demonstrators in the coastal city of Tel Aviv and the coastal city of Haifa called for Netanyahu's dismissal and new elections on Saturday evening. Protesters in Tel Aviv chanted “We will not surrender” and “Evil government” as they marched through the city centre.
Last year, repeated mass protests broke out against the highly controversial judicial reform that Netanyahu's religious-right government wanted to implement. After the massacre committed by the Islamist movement Hamas and other groups in the Israeli border area on October 7, and the ensuing war in Gaza, protests have largely stopped.
2:37 PM – Borrell: It is not permissible to drag Lebanon into the conflict
According to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Lebanon should not be dragged into the Middle East conflict. Borrell said during a visit to Lebanon that no one emerges victorious from the conflict in the region. The increasing bombing across the border between Israel and Lebanon is worrying.
12:00 noon – Hezbollah fires dozens of missiles at Israel
The Lebanese Hezbollah militia fired dozens of rockets at Israel on Saturday. The Shiite militia said that an Israeli base in Mount Meron was attacked with 62 missiles and casualties were recorded. This is an initial reaction to the killing of Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut.
Israel reported firing about 40 shells, but did not mention any casualties. In return, the Hezbollah site that fired the missiles was attacked.
11:49 AM – Gaza: More than 22,700 Palestinians killed
In the Gaza Strip, at least 22,722 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. Nearly 58,200 other people were infected. According to authorities, 122 people were killed and 256 injured in the past 24 hours alone.
10:54 AM – Security company Ambry reported an incident in the Red Sea
British maritime security company Ambrey said it had received a report of an incident in the Red Sea. Ambre says this happened in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, but he did not give any details. Crews on commercial ships traveling in the area are asked to remain on deck as little as possible. Embry says only essential crew members should be on the bridge of ships.
Bab al-Mandab is the strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, which then continues to the Arabian Sea, a marginal sea of the Indian Ocean. Important commercial shipping routes pass through the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Red Sea country allied with Hamas, have repeatedly attacked commercial ships they claim are linked to Israel.
05:10 AM – Famine in Gaza? Israel contradicts the UN narrative of horror
While relief organizations in the Gaza Strip talk about an imminent famine, the Israeli army presents the situation differently: “According to our assessment, and based on our discussions with the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, there are sufficient food supplies in the Gaza Strip.” Elad Goren is the competent authority in managing government business.
“We are also seeing improved access to water and food.” However, in order for more aid to reach the coastal area closed by Israel, the United Nations and other relief organizations must “urgently” increase their capacity to receive and distribute aid.
On the same day, the head of the United Nations Emergency Relief Office, Martin Griffiths, described the situation in Gaza as increasingly tragic. He added: „Gaza has become a place of death and despair.” “The past 12 weeks have been traumatic, especially for children,” the UN emergency aid coordinator said. “No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrible sounds of war, day after day.” Griffiths explained that the Gaza Strip has simply become “uninhabitable.”
2:01 AM – Israel wants to avoid genocide charges in South Africa
A media report said that Israel wants to intensify international pressure against the genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the Gaza war. The goal is to avoid a court order to stop the fighting immediately, the Axios news portal reported, citing a copy of a cable from the Israeli Foreign Ministry to its embassies abroad. The embassies will be asked to persuade local diplomats and politicians to issue a statement against the lawsuit brought by South Africa. Hearings in the case are scheduled to be held before the court next week.
Three months after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip against the Islamic Hamas movement, Israel must bear responsibility for the ongoing military operation before an international court for the first time. South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the highest court of the United Nations, accusing it of committing genocide. The court scheduled hearings for January 11 and 12. UN court rulings are usually binding. However, judges do not have the power to force the state to implement it.
11:21 PM – The United States offers ten million dollars in exchange for information about Hamas financiers
The US State Department said the United States is offering up to $10 million to anyone who provides information on five Hamas financiers or anything that disrupts the financial mechanisms of the Palestinian armed group. The ministry said that the five individuals are Abdel Basset Hamza Al-Hassan Khair, Amer Kamal Sharif Al-Shawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahlab, Walid Muhammad Mustafa Jadallah, and Muhammad Ahmed Abdel-Dayem Nasrallah, all of whom were previously designated by the United States as global terrorists. In the current situation.
10:56 PM – Israel defends scheduled investigation into its failures
The Israeli military is defending itself against intense criticism from some far-right ministers over a planned Hamas investigation to come to terms with its mistakes that made the October 7 Hamas massacre possible. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Friday evening that the army must learn from its mistakes. He stressed that the investigation has not yet begun. According to the information, this is an internal investigation in which former defense officials will also participate. According to Hagari, the results of the treatment should be published.
According to Israeli media reports, a heated debate took place at an Israeli Cabinet meeting on Friday evening. Extremist right-wing ministers strongly attacked Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevy after he announced the formation of a committee to address the army's mistakes.
Cabinet members criticized the timing because fighting in the Gaza Strip is still ongoing. The appointment of former Defense Minister Shaul Movas, who oversaw the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, to head the committee was also met with sharp protests. A number of extremist right-wing ministers are currently calling for the repopulation of the Gaza Strip after the war. Defense Minister Yoav Galant rejects this.
