Israeli tanks advance deeper into Gaza Strip
The Israeli military is gradually expanding ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip: tanks and bulldozers have advanced into a district of Gaza City.
Several dozen trucks carrying relief supplies reached the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldiers have advanced deeper into the north and center of the Gaza Strip. Video footage obtained by several news agencies shows that an Israeli tank and bulldozers blocked the main highway between the north and south of the territory. The AFP agency, citing eyewitnesses, reports that “dozens” of tanks entered the Al-Seitun district and blocked the highway.
“They have cut off Salaheddin Street and are shooting at every car that drives there,” a witness told AFP. The tanks and the Israeli Air Force bombarded the important traffic axis over a length of one kilometer. The road is covered in large craters and is no longer passable.
The Israeli military said dozens of “terrorists” were killed in the nighttime attacks. The militant Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, also reported fighting.
The military is talking about expanding its operations
When asked whether soldiers had taken up positions on the streets, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military operation had been expanded. Additional infantry, tank and artillery units have advanced into the Gaza Strip. He did not comment on individual deployments.
The Israeli military released video footage showing armored vehicles moving between buildings. You can also see how soldiers take up positions in houses.
The advance means Israeli troops are now on both sides of Gaza City. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still remain in the north of the Gaza Strip. If the road to the south were blocked, they would no longer be able to escape. Most residents have complied with Israel’s request to leave the north.
Aid supplies reach Gaza Strip
According to an Israeli media report, a convoy of trucks carrying relief supplies arrived in the sealed-off Gaza Strip. The Israeli news site Ynet, citing officials at the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, reported that 23 trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossed the border into the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening. A total of 33 trucks reached the area yesterday.
It is “the largest delivery of humanitarian aid since October 21,” said the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha). But there is “a far greater” need for aid to provide for the more than 2.2 million residents in the Gaza Strip. In particular, medical equipment, water, sanitation and fuel are needed, it said. Israel has blocked all fuel shipments on the grounds that the terrorist organization Hamas is using them to produce weapons and explosives.
