Israel’s army says it attacked an ambulance allegedly used by the Islamist Hamas during its advance in the north of the Gaza Strip. The military said several terrorists were killed.
The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, however, claimed that wounded people had been transported to the border crossing so that they could be treated in Egypt. The attack happened in front of the entrance to the Shifa Hospital in the city of Gaza. 13 people were killed and 26 others were injured. The information provided by both sides could not initially be independently verified.
Israel has long accused Hamas of deliberately placing its command centers, weapons depots and rocket launch pads in civilian facilities such as hospitals and schools or in tunnels underneath – so that they are not bombed from the air.
WHO chief “shocked” after ambulances are fired upon
“We are deeply shocked by reports of attacks on ambulances evacuating patients near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which have resulted in deaths, injuries and damage,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote. on platform X (formerly Twitter). “We repeat: patients, medical staff, facilities and ambulances must be protected at all times. Always.” The WHO chief called for an immediate ceasefire.
Israel speaks of a “combat zone”
The Israeli army said that the area under fire was a “combat zone”. According to Israel, Shifa Hospital also serves as a Hamas command center. They said they have information that shows that Hamas’s “approach is to transport terrorists and weapons in ambulances.”
Israeli media reported, citing security sources, that Hamas had concentrated around 30,000 people around the clinic as “human shields.” According to the media, Israel’s military has surrounded the city. It had repeatedly urged all civilians to flee to the south of the densely populated coastal area for their own safety.
New incidents on Israel’s northern border
Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it was repelling attacks by terrorists from Lebanon. As the army announced on Telegram on Saturday night, a “terror cell” is said to have attempted to fire anti-tank missiles at the area of Kibbutz Yiftah in northern Israel the day before. An Israeli army tank hit the terrorist cell. In addition, a terrorist from Lebanon approached the border area near the community of Schelomi and was killed by an Israeli fighter plane.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7th, there have been repeated confrontations between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah on the border between Israel and Lebanon. There were already deaths on both sides. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Friday against military escalation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded with a warning: “Such a mistake will be very costly. You will pay an unimaginable price.”
Israel’s army reports killing of dozens of terrorists in Gaza
The Israeli army says it has killed “dozens of terrorists” in another ground operation against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The army said there had been numerous attempts to attack Israeli troops from tunnel shafts and military facilities in the northern Gaza Strip the previous day. The soldiers killed terrorists, found Hamas weapons and uncovered tunnel shafts that were used for terrorist purposes.
Israeli tanks destroyed three Hamas observation posts in the north of the Gaza Strip and killed several of them in battles with 15 terrorists, it said. During the night, the Israeli army also carried out a targeted raid in the southern Gaza Strip to clear buildings and defuse explosive devices. During the operation, the troops encountered a terrorist cell that came out of a tunnel shaft. The troops fired on the terrorists and killed them, it said.
US Secretary of State to Israel in Jordan
According to Jordanian sources, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wants to discuss the Gaza war with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries in the region on Saturday in the local capital Amman. Jordan wants to coordinate with Arab states before the meeting in order to “end the Israeli war against Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe it has caused,” the Jordanian news agency Petra reported on Friday evening, citing a spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.
Blinken had previously called on Israel to provide better protection for civilians in the Gaza Strip. “We must do more to protect Palestinian civilians,” he said after meeting Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. The Israeli head of government again emphasized that he rejected ceasefires in the Gaza war as long as Hamas did not release the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Report: Israel wants to intensify ground operations
According to a media report, the US government expects a new phase of the Israeli campaign against Hamas to begin in the next few days. The CNN broadcaster reported that night, citing a senior government official in Washington, that President Joe Biden’s government expected a reduction in air strikes and a stronger “tactical focus on the ground campaign.” The aim is probably to clear the huge network of underground tunnel complexes from which Hamas operates.
Israel’s army: Hamas operational plans found
After the recent air strikes in the Jabalia refugee camp, which, according to Israel, were the masterminds of the massacre on October 7th, Israel’s infantry claimed to have found Hamas operational plans, maps and communication equipment as well as personal data of Hamas commanders and terrorists, according to military information on Friday. This information would be evaluated by the intelligence service and made available to the army for future battles.
The army said 50 terrorists were killed in the operation in Jabalia. According to Palestinian accounts, many civilians were among the victims. Israel’s army says it still cannot say how many civilians were killed. The information from both sides can hardly be verified independently.
What is important today
US Secretary of State Blinken will meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries in the region in Amman to discuss the Gaza war, according to Jordanian sources.
