Israeli forces intensified bombings in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and ordered civilians to abandon a refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian enclave, following the war spread to Lebanon with the death, in Beirut, of the deputy. Hamas leader
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it killed Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.
But military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were in a high state of readiness and prepared for any scenario.
The assassination was yet another sign that the nearly three-month war between Israel and Hamas was spreading across the region, involving the occupied West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Lebanese-Israeli border and even shipping lanes. of the Red Sea.
Arouri, 57, who lived in Beirut, was the first Hamas political leader to be assassinated since Israel began its offensive once morest the militant group, in response to its deadly offensive once morest Israeli cities, on October 7.
Hamas Political Bureau member Hossam Badran said in a eulogy for Arouri: “We say to the criminal occupation (Israel) that the battle between us is open.” Israel has long accused it of orchestrating attacks once morest its citizens.
But a Hamas official said Arouri was also “at the center of negotiations” led by Qatar and Egypt over the outcome of the Gaza war and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was scheduled to give a speech in Beirut on Wednesday followingnoon. Previously, he had warned Israel once morest assassinations on Lebanese soil, promising a “severe reaction”.
Hezbollah, heavily armed and allied with Hamas, has exchanged almost daily fire with Israel across Lebanon’s southern border since the start of the Gaza war.
More than 100 Hezbollah fighters and two dozen civilians were killed on Lebanese territory, as well as at least nine Israeli soldiers in Israel.
In the wake of Arouri’s death, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said it was deeply concerned regarding the possibility of an escalation “that might have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the border.”
Refugee camp under fire
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces shelled the Al-Nusseirat refugee camp, in the northern part of the Hamas-ruled enclave, overnight and on Wednesday, destroying several multi-story buildings, according to residents and media. Palestinian media.
Israeli planes also dropped leaflets over Al-Nusseirat, ordering people to leave seven neighborhoods. “They are in a dangerous combat zone.
The IDF is operating heavily in your area of residence. For your safety, the IDF asks you to immediately evacuate this area and head towards known shelters in Deir Al-Balah (West),” the leaflets said.
Israeli warplanes and tanks also intensified attacks on the Al-Bureij refugee camp. The armed wing of Hamas claimed to have killed 10 Israeli soldiers in the fighting in Al-Bureij and hit five tanks and troop transport vehicles.
The Israeli army has put the number of soldiers killed since its first incursion into Gaza on October 20 at 177. In the AlMaghazi refugee camp, health authorities said at least four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house.
Three people were also killed in an airstrike on a house in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians.
However, the total number of Palestinian deaths has now reached 22,185, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The war was triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas on Israeli cities on October 7, in which, according to Israel, 1,200 people were killed and around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza.
Since then, Israeli bombings have destroyed much of the enclave. Its 2.3 million inhabitants are plunged into a humanitarian catastrophe in which thousands of people have been left destitute, crowded into small areas in the hope of being safe and threatened by hunger due to lack of food.