2023-10-12 06:28:02
JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians in Gaza spent the night in complete darkness, surrounded by the ruins of devastated neighborhoods, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas, with the backing of a new government. of war that includes one of his critics.
“Every member of Hamas is a dead man,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech.
International aid groups have warned that deaths in Gaza might accelerate as the territory runs out of supplies amid the blockade imposed by Israel. The war, which began following a bloody and widespread attack by Hamas on Israel, has already claimed the lives of at least 2,400 people on both sides.
Israeli forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver if it is decided,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesman, adding that the political leadership has not yet ordered the deployment. A ground offensive in Gaza, the first since the 2014 war, might further drive up casualties on both sides in brutal door-to-door fighting.
The Israeli military said the target of its overnight offensive was Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces, including the command centers used by the fighters who attacked Israel on Saturday and the home of a senior naval officer of the insurgent group who, it said, , which was used to store unspecified weapons.
“Right now we are focused on taking down their top leadership,” Hecht explained. “Not only the military leadership, but also the government leadership, up to (Hamas top leader Yehiyeh) Sinwar. They were directly connected.”
Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry said the Israeli strikes brought down two multi-story homes on top of residents without warning and killed and wounded “a large number” of people, mainly civilians. The militia has threatened to kill Israeli hostages if Israel attacks Gazan civilians without warning.
Israel suspended the entry of food, water, fuel and medicine to the Palestinian enclave. On Wednesday, its only power plant ran out of fuel and closed, leaving electricity generation in the hands of the few private generators, which will also shut down if fuel is not allowed to arrive.
A senior official at the International Committee of the Red Cross said the lack of electricity might paralyze hospitals and called on Hamas to release the hostages.
“As Gaza loses power, hospitals are left without power, endangering newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen. Kidney dialysis is slowed down and x-rays cannot be taken,” said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC director for the region. “Without electricity, hospitals risk becoming morgues.”
In Israel, opposition leader Benny Gantz — former defense minister and Netanyahu’s political rival — joined the new war government at a time when the military looks increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive on Gaza. Israel has called up 360,000 reservists, built up additional troops near Gaza and evacuated tens of thousands of residents in communities near the Palestinian territory.
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Shurafa reported from Gaza City. Associated Press journalists Amy Teibel and Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem; Sam McNeil in Be’eri, Israel; Jack Jeffrey and Samy Magdy in Cairo, Egypt, and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Lebanon, contributed to this report.
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