The Israeli military has advanced further into the southern and western regions of Gaza City, which is located in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Monday.
In the early hours of Monday, the military began what it called counterterrorism operations in the area and called on civilians to leave before the operation began, the IDF said.
IDF troops reached the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza City, it said.
On Monday, army radio reported clashes with armed members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. According to Palestinian hospital reports, at least 15 people were killed. The number of victims could still rise because rescue workers are unable to reach many residential areas due to the fighting.
Dpa is unable to independently verifty the reports.
The Israeli military has previously advanced into the northern section of the besieged coastal area during war.
Residents of the affected neighbourhoods described to dpa the overnight advance as a “night of terror.”
Hezbollah militant killed in Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, the Israeli military killed a fighter from the Iran-backed Islamist militant group Hezbollah with a targeted airstrike.
The man was hit by a drone as he was riding a motorcycle in the Tyros district, Hezbollah announced.
The Israeli army confirmed the targeted strike, and said the person killed was part of a Hezbollah rocket unit that was involved in numerous attacks on Israeli territory.
The catalyst for Israel’s war in Gaza was the unprecedented massacre carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 last year in southern Israel.
The militants killed 1,200 people and abducted another 250 as hostages into the Gaza Strip. Israel estimates around 120 kidnapping victims are still in the coastal area, though many of them are likely no longer alive.
Since then, Hezbollah has repeatedly fired rockets and other projectiles into northern Israel out of what the group calls “solidarity” with Hamas.
According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health authority, more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far. This figure includes both fighters and civilians.
Israelis in Cairo for indirect talks
An Israeli delegation has departed for Cairo for indirect talks with the militant Palestinian Hamas group to negotiate a ceasefire deal, Israel’s Kan radio reported on Monday.
The Israeli delegation is led by Ronen Bar, the head of the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, it said.
The discussions, which have been ongoing for months with mediation from Egypt, Qatar, and the US, aim for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Mediators are currently working on formulations to bridge the existing gaps on contentious points.
Hamas is reportedly showing flexibility and has deviated from its core demand that Israel must commit to ending the war.
However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fundamentally insists on Israel’s right to continue the fighting even after the implementation of a future deal.
On Sunday evening, Netanyahu’s office released a document stating that any ceasefire agreement must allow Israel to resume the fighting until all war objectives are met.
Israel has declared the total dismantling of Hamas as a military formation and as a governmental power in the Gaza Strip as one of its war aims.
Critics interpreted the condition Netanyahu described as “non-negotiable” as an attempt to derail the resumed talks in Cairo and Qatar.
Protests in Israel for hostage deal
Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Israeli cities to increase pressure on Netanyahu to finally reach an agreement for the release of the hostages.
The Israeli prime minister governs with ultra-religious and far-right coalition partners who reject concessions to Hamas. For his political survival, Netanyahu, who has been facing a corruption trial for a long time, depends on these partners.
Source Agencies
