Israel escalates assault to forcibly transfer hundreds of thousands of people south

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Israeli forces attack key north Gaza hospital

Unrwa: No end to hell for 400,000 trapped Palestinians

Biden and Netanyahu to speak on Wednesday

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Hamas and Fatah leaders to hold Palestinian unity talks in Cairo

17 minutes ago

Leaders of Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement will hold further unity talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters.

According to Taher al-Nono, the media adviser of the Hamas political chief, the Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday. It was led by Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s chief negotiator and Hamas’ second-in-command, currently based in Qatar.

“The meeting will discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the challenges facing the Palestinian cause,” Nono said.

There was no immediate comment from Fatah.

The meeting will be the first in months since the two groups held talks in the Chinese capital in July, agreeing on steps to form a unity government. Similar rounds in the past have so far failed to make progress.

The issue of the post-war Gaza administration is one of the thorniest issues facing the Palestinians, and both factions have said it was an internal affair, rejecting any Israeli or US conditions.

Israel vowed it would not accept any role for Hamas in post-war Gaza. It says it doesn’t trust the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority to do the job either.

Reporting by Reuters

Israel aims to ‘take over north Gaza’, sources say

42 minutes ago

The Israeli military is aiming to “take over northern Gaza” with its latest intense aerial and ground assault, sources have told Israeli news outlet Walla. 

“If the move goes ahead according to plans, the IDF [Israeli army] will be able to operationally control a large area of ​​the Gaza Strip,” a military source said.

MSF: Israel violently ’emptying out’ north Gaza of Palestinian life

58 minutes ago

The recent forced mass expulsion orders by the Israeli military in northern Gaza are turning the war-battered area into an “unliveable wasteland” and effectively emptying it out of Palestinian life, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Tuesday.

The orders, which coincide with a new intense ground and aerial assault, are “causing the forced displacement of people”. 

“To make matters worse, no humanitarian supplies have been allowed to enter the area since 1 October,” the MSF said in a statement. 

The Israeli military has also issued expulsion orders for three main hospitals in the area, which were operating at minimal capacity.
 
“The latest move to forcefully and violently push thousands of people from northern Gaza to the south is turning the north into a lifeless desert, while aggravating the situation in the south, where more than one million people have already been squeezed into a small portion of the Gaza Strip and live in deplorable conditions,” said Sarah Vuylsteke, MSF project coordinator in Gaza.

“Access to water, healthcare, and safety is already almost non-existent, and the thought of more people fitting into this space is impossible to imagine,” Vuylsteke added.

“People have been subjected to endless displacement and relentless bombing for the past 12 months. Enough is enough, this must stop now.”

130 Israeli soldiers to ‘stop reporting for duty’ if Gaza deal not pursued

1 hour ago

A letter signed by 130 Israeli soldiers warned they will stop serving in the military if the government does not seek a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas that allows the exchange of captives with Palestinian prisoners, Haaretz reported on Wednesday.

Reservists and draftees from various departments, including the air force, the navy, the armoured corps and the artillery corps, addressed the letter to cabinet ministers and the military’s chief of staff.

They said continuing the war in Gaza endangers the lives of captives still held there, as many of them have already been killed in Israeli air strikes or during operations to rescue them.

“We, who serve and have served with dedication and while risking our lives, hereby announce that if the government does not immediately change course and work toward a deal to bring the hostages back home, we will not be able to continue serving,” the letter said. 

“For some of us, the red line has been crossed already; for others, it is rapidly approaching: the day is approaching when we will, with broken hearts, stop reporting for duty.”

Lebanon death toll tops 2,100, with 36 killed in past day

1 hour ago

Israeli forces killed at least 36 people in strikes across Lebanon and wounded 150 on Tuesday, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday.

This brings the death toll since 8 October 2023 to 2,119, with more than 10,019 wounded. 

No end to hell for 400,000 Palestinians trapped in north Gaza, says Unrwa chief

2 hours ago

There is no end to hell in northern Gaza where at least 400,000 Palestinians are trapped, Unrwa chief said, amid a fresh Israeli ground and aerial assault in the area. 

“Recent evacuation orders from the Israeli Authorities are forcing people to flee again & again, especially from Jabalia Camp,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. 

The new intense Israeli assault, which started on Saturday, has forced Unrwa shelters and services to shut, some for the first time since the war started over a year ago, Lazzarini added on X.

However, many people refusing to leave their homes, knowing there is no safe place in Gaza to flee to.

“With almost no basic supplies available, hunger is spreading & deepening again,” Lazzarini warned. 

source and more:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/live/live-israel-sends-more-troops-lebanon-gaza-war-enters-second-year