Tag: Hamas terrorists

US Hamas

Asked Israel To Distinguish Between Hamas Terrorists, Palestinian Civilians: US

By LokMarg

The US has asked the Israeli government to distinguish between Hamas terrorists and Palestinian civilians as Israel intensified its retaliation in the region after Hamas launched a surprise attack on October 7.

“We have raised directly with the Israeli Government about the need to distinguish between Hamas terrorists and Palestinian civilians. This is something that the Secretary has raised directly on his travels. We even laid out that we believe that there are commitments that can be made additionally on dealing with protecting civilian life more effectively, and we’re watching very closely to make sure that happens,” said US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel.

The remarks came during the US Department of State’s weekly press briefing on Tuesday.

He also went on to clarify the US stand on the ‘humanitarian pause’ in Gaza adding that it wants to make sure that with the entrance of aid in Gaza, Hamas will not again regroup and a passage for releasing hostages will be ensured.

He said, “We have also been incredibly clear to Hizbollah and any other malign actors that they should not use this opportunity to widen this conflict. And when we’re talking about a humanitarian pause, what we are talking about is conditions that simultaneously ensure that Hamas is not in a position in which it can regroup, restrengthen itself, position itself in a way to further conduct attacks on the Israeli people while also creating conditions that perhaps will allow for the further provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza that will perhaps allow conditions that other hostages can be released as well.”

He added further, “We want conditions created that will allow for the entrance of additional humanitarian aid into Gaza. We want the conditions to be such that will allow potentially for additional hostages to be released by Hamas.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli Foreign Ministry published data and said that Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip have fired more than 9,500 rockets at Israeli territory since Hamas launched its multi-pronged attack on the Jewish state one month ago

Israel said the numbers are not final and are constantly being updated. Throughout Tuesday, multiple air-raid sirens were activated in central Israel and localities near the border with Gaza.

Hamas is believed to be holding at least 239 people hostage in Gaza. Along with Israeli citizens, this figure includes 25 Thai nationals, 21 Argentinians, 18 Germans, 10 Americans, seven French, seven Russians, four Hungarians, three Poles, three Portuguese, two Brits, two Filipinos, two Romanians and two Tanzanians.

In addition, the terror group is holding hostage individual nationals of Canada, Austria, Brazil, China, South Africa, Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Serbia, Ukraine and Uruguay.

More than 330,000 Israeli citizens have returned from abroad since the start of “Operation Swords of Iron,” the Israel Airports Authority announced on Tuesday, increasing the Jewish state’s population by almost 3.5 per cent.

At the same time, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics recorded a sharp decrease in foreigners, including tourists, entering the country. Approximately 98,600 visitors travelled to Israel in October, a decrease of 73 per cent compared to the same month in 2022.

Since Oct. 7, the Israel Defence Forces has attacked over 14,000 terror targets in Gaza, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday night. Troops have killed “thousands of terrorists above and beneath the ground” in the coastal enclave, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (ANI)

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Israel-Hamas

Hamas Do Not Want People To Evacuate Northern Gaza: IDF

By LokMarg

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has now completed a month, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus has said that the Hamas terrorists have made specific efforts to stop Palestinians from moving South.

The IDF spokesperson said that most of the combat operations are going on in Gaza because that is where most of the Hamas has its strong hold.

In a video posted on social media platform X, Conricus said, “Most of the combat operations are going on in northern Gaza. there are still other strikes going on , in other areas as well, but we are focussing on Northern Gaza, because that is where most of the Hamas has its strong hold.”

He said that Hamas wants to keep civilians in densely populated areas in order to meet their purposes.

“Now, what we have seen are roadblocks, hamas has made specific efforts to stop Palestinians from moving south, ..they do not want people to evacuate from the north….they want them to stay in a densely populated areas where there is the most serious and difficult fighting ..because they want the civilians on top of their tunnels,” Conricus said.

In a quick update, focussing on humanitarian efforts taken up from IDF side, Conricus mentioned that the forces are trying to get the Palestinian civilians out of Northern Gaza.

“As we have been saying since last two weeks, we are trying to get Palestinian civilians out of this area and down into the south….more than a million and a half pamphlets and flyers have been airdropped, different colors for different days…so that people can understand that these are different pamphlets… we have done almost 20,000 live phonecalls by Israeli intel officers calling people in various neighbourhoods like Jabaliya, in Gaza city and many other locations, telling them relocate to south, not to stay or remain in northern Gaza,” the IDF spokesperson said.

“The sum total of this is serious, relevant timely effort to get the message to the Palestinian population that they should go from the northern part of Gaza to go to south of Gaza…because it is not safe where they are standing,” he added.

The Israeli Army said on Sunday that “significant strikes” are being carried out and the Gaza Strip has been “cut into two”, Al Jazeera reported.

Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli forces “have encircled Gaza City” and “now there exists a south Gaza and a north Gaza”.

“Troops reached the coastline and are holding it”, he added. “There are now widespread strikes on terror infrastructure – below ground and above it,” Al Jazeera quoted Hagari as saying.

In another statement, Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, during a meeting in the Northern Command, said that the IDF is ready to strike in the northern Gaza at “any moment”.

“We have a clear goal of restoring a significantly better security situation at the borders, not only in the Gaza Strip…We are ready to strike in the north at any moment,” IDF posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared that Israel will not agree to a ceasefire until the Hamas terror group releases the hostages it is holding, The Times of Israel reported.

“Take this (word ‘ceasefire’) out of the lexicon. We will continue until we defeat them; we do not have an alternative,” Netanyahu is quoted saying in a statement from his office.

Meanwhile, Israeli envoy to the US, Michael Herzog called Gaza as the world’s “biggest terror complex”, Times of Israel reported.

He said that Gaza is “the biggest terror complex in the world,” with tens of thousands of fighters and rockets, among other weaponry — and 310 miles (500 kilometres) of underground tunnels.

“This is what we’re up against. And we have to uproot it, because if we do not, they will strike again and again,” Times of Israel quoted Herzog as saying at CBS’s “Face the Nation” interview. (ANI)

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