The announced ground offensive in Deir al-Balah has begun. And Israel rejects the call from 25 countries to cease the violence and increase aid.
The Times of Israel and Channel 12 report that the Israeli ground offensive in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, began on Monday afternoon (local time). According to news agency Reuters, tanks are being used in the offensive. At least three Palestinians were reportedly killed in the shelling.
Residents were ordered to evacuate by the Israeli army last weekend. According to estimates by the United Nations, between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area at that time. Subsequently, Palestinian families were seen moving south with their belongings.
Deir al-Balah is one of the few places in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli army has not yet been active with ground troops since the start of the war in Gaza. Previously, the army refrained from ground operations so as not to endanger any hostages in the area. It is not known what has changed now.
The Israeli army has not yet reported the start of the ground offensive.
Israel rejects call from countries including the Netherlands to cease violence
Israel has rejected a joint statement from the foreign ministers of 25 countries, including the Netherlands. In that statement, the ministers call for a review and increase in aid to Gaza. The statement was also signed by the foreign ministers of, among others, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Denmark, Japan and Australia.
According to the countries involved, Israel is using “a dangerous method” in which Palestinians are unnecessarily at risk of getting food. “It is appalling that more than eight hundred Palestinians have been killed while seeking help,” the countries write.
In addition, the signatories state that the supply of aid is completely insufficient, as a result of which the humanitarian situation has reached “a new low”. They call it “unacceptable” that Israel is withholding aid from the Palestinians and call on the country to immediately lift all restrictions.
A journalist from The Wall Street Journal was recently invited by the Israeli army to visit a distribution point of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). According to the journalist, there is usually too little food available for the crowd that has flocked to the site, resulting in chaotic situations. The GHF writes in its daily updates on X that the aid at the distribution points is proceeding without any significant incidents.
Soldiers confirm in conversation with the newspaper that warning shots are almost always fired, even if there is no immediate threat to the Israeli troops. The use of artillery shells is not avoided. Other soldiers and officers made similar comments in conversation with the critical Israeli newspaper Haaretz last month.
According to Israel, the call sends the wrong signal to Hamas
In addition, the countries are deeply concerned about the occupation and possible ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas is also being addressed: that group must release hostages “immediately”.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the joint appeal is “disconnected from reality” and sends “the wrong signal to Hamas”. “In these sensitive moments of ongoing negotiations, it is better to avoid this type of statement,” the ministry writes on X.