Israeli army conducts ‘targeted raid’ with tanks in Gaza ahead of next stage
Israel Hamas War Live Updates: Israel has agreed to delay an expected invasion of Gaza for now so that the United States can rush missile defences to the region to protect its troops there, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing US and Israeli officials. Israel is also taking into account in its planning the effort to supply humanitarian aid to civilians inside Gaza, as well as diplomatic efforts to free hostages held by Hamas militants, the report said. Over 100,000 Israelis have filed requests for gun licenses, according to the National Security Ministry. Hamas’ surprise attacks after October 7 on the Gaza border communities triggered a tsunami of requests for permits as the Israel Defense Forces were caught off guard by the attacks.
EU eyes call for ‘humanitarian corridors and pauses’ in Gaza
EU leaders will on Thursday debate calling for “pauses” in Israel’s war with Hamas to get aid into Gaza, as the bloc weighs how to respond to another conflict as fighting rages in Ukraine. The European Union has struggled for both unity and influence in the face of the crisis that has engulfed the Middle East since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7.
Israel-Palestine War News: ‘Our lives stopped’: Relatives plead for Israel hostages
Moran Betzer Tayar, wracked by anguish about the kidnapping of her nephew and his wife by Hamas fighters on October 7, summed up her feelings during a press conference: “On Saturday morning, our lives stopped.” The 54-year-old, speaking in Paris on Wednesday, is on a European tour with other relatives of hostages snatched by the Palestinian militant group during a raid that killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Israeli troops carry out hourslong ground raid into Gaza ahead of expected wider incursion
Israeli troops and tanks launched an hourslong ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several militant targets in order to “prepare the battlefield” ahead of a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating air raids.
The raid came after the UN warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory, which has also been under a complete siege since Hamas’ bloody rampage across southern Israel ignited the war earlier this month.
The rising death tolls in Gaza are unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
