FLASH
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The Israeli military signaled that it has ended major fighting in northern Gaza, saying it has finished destroying Hamas military infrastructure there.
The war between Israel and Hamas – the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union – entered its fourth month on January 7.
The Israeli army did not talk about the deployment of troops in northern Gaza in the future. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Saturday night that forces "will continue to deepen gains" there and strengthen defenses along the border between Israel and Gaza. He said that the troops will be concentrated in the central and southern parts of the territory.
The announcement came before the visit to Israel by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden, including Blinken, have repeatedly called on Israel to reduce its air and ground offensive in Gaza and shift military operations to targeted attacks on Hamas leaders in order to avoid casualties among Palestinian civilians.
In recent weeks, Israel has scaled back its military offensive in northern Gaza and concentrated on the south, where most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have taken refuge.
The war was sparked by attacks by the radical group Hamas on October 7 in southern Gaza, where Hamas killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has insisted that the war will not end until the objective of eliminating Hamas, returning the hostages and ensuring that Israel is not a threat to Gaza is met.
Due to the Israeli response through land, air and sea attacks, more than 22,700 Palestinians have been killed and more than 58,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip so far, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-led Gaza. This ministry does not distinguish between civilians and killed combatants. Health officials have said that about two-thirds of the victims were children. Israel blames Hamas for the high number of civilians killed, because according to Israel, the radical group operates in areas populated by civilians.
On Sunday, officials at Nasser Hospital in Han Yunis, southern Gaza, said they had received the bodies of 18 people, including 12 children, who were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Saturday night. More than 50 people have been injured in attacks on a refugee camp in Han Yunis that was built decades ago to house refugees from the 1948 Middle East war, when the state of Israel was established.
Another attack hit a house between Khan Younis and the other southern city of Rafah, killing at least seven people. The bodies of the victims were taken to a nearby hospital, according to AP journalists who were present at the European hospital.
Israeli forces have also advanced inside the city center of Deir al-Bala, where on Saturday they warned residents of several neighborhoods to evacuate. /REL
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