Thursday, 9 November 2023

ISRAEL REPORTS ON 10 HOUR BATTLE AT HAMAS STRONGHOLD AS EVACUATION RESUMES

 Israel says it takes over a Hamas "stronghold" in northern Gaza after a 10-hour battle

  1. Hamas-run authorities say Israeli air strikes continued overnight, including in Khan Younis in the south, where six people were reportedly killed
  2. An evacuation route, allowing people to leave northern Gaza for the south, is open for the fifth day
  3. Israel says 50,000 Palestinians left the Gaza City area on Wednesday via that route.
  4. But the Rafah crossing into Egypt is closed, as Hamas wants more injured Palestinians to be let out alongside foreign passport holders
  5. In the West Bank, Palestinian authorities say six people were killed during Israeli raids overnight.
  6. Israel began striking Gaza after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, which saw 1,400 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage
  7. More than 10,500 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including more than 4,300 children.
  8. Palestinian officials say six killed in West Bank raids

    A Palestinian man sits at a damaged area inside the Jenin refugee camp following an Israeli raid, in the West Bank city of Jenin, 09 November 2023. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire close to Bethlehem and Hebron, respectively. Since 07 October 2023, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed, while over 2,000 have sustained injuries in the West Bank.
    Image caption: A man sits next to rubble in the Jenin refugee camp

    Away from Gaza now, we have a bit more from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops carried out raids overnight. The Palestinian health ministry has just said six Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the raids on various towns in the north.

    One of the camps that have been raided was the Jenin refugee camp - where we reported from earlier. Local residents there say Israeli forces bulldozed the streets, leaving damage to the water and electricity network.

    Charity the Palestinian Red Crescent said one of their paramedics was injured with live bullets "when a PRCS ambulance was targeted during a raid by occupation forces in Jenin refugee camp".

    Israel's military confirmed it was conducting counter-terrorism raids in Jenin and elsewhere in the West Bank, saying they had destroyed and confiscated weapons.

    Since the beginning of the war, more than 150 Palestinians including 44 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces, the UN humanitarian office OCHA says.

  9. Hamas claims to have destroyed Israeli vehicles and bulldozer

    Smoke rises in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli air strikes on Thursday
    Image caption: Smoke rises in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli air strikes on Thursday

    Earlier, Israel gave an update on the fighting in Gaza, saying it took control of a "Hamas stronghold" in the northern Gaza Strip, west of Jabalia, after a 10-hour battle.

    Hamas has now also given an update, with its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claiming to have:

    • Destroyed three Israeli vehicles and a bulldozer near the Al-Shati camp, also known as the Beach camp
    • Destroyed an Israeli tank north of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City
    • Destroyed an Israeli tank in Al-Tawam, north of Gaza City

    Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades - from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group - claim to have bombed Israeli vehicles in the Ansar complex in Gaza City.

    They also say they have fired rockets at the Israeli city of Ashdod, where air raid sirens have been heard.

    As a reminder, the BBC can't immediately verify most battlefield claims.

  10. Israel reopens road for Gazans to move south

    The Israeli military says it has today reopened an evacuation corridor to allow civilians in northern Gaza (where much of the war is taking place) to move to the south.

    The Israel Defense Forces - which has been telling Gazans to do this for weeks - says this will be the fifth consecutive day the Salah al-Din corridor is open.

    Avichay Adraee, the military's spokesman for Arab media, said on X that movement though the main road running the length of Gaza would be permitted between 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT) and 16:00. That's an hour longer than yesterday.

    Yesterday, about 50,000 people managed to evacuate the north via this road, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said - the largest number in a single day since the corridor opened on Sunday.

    But those making the journey were still at risk, OCHA said. "Clashes and shelling on and around the road reportedly continued, endangering evacuees with reports of corpses alongside the road," they said, before quoting an evacuee who said they were forced to walk "for about two hours" with a family member in a wheelchair.

  11. MORE DETAILS AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67364296

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