By Athena Papakosta

Israel is under pressure to protect civilians as it continues its operations in southern Gaza. Its closest ally, the United States of America, has made it clear that there must be no repeat of what happened in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave where entire neighborhoods have been leveled, thousands killed and tens of thousands displaced.

For its part, the Israeli army responds that its attacks are more precise and that it has taken the necessary steps to warn the civilian population. However, the ongoing Israeli operation in the southern Gaza Strip has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. Hospitals are full of wounded, many of them children, while doctors operate with dwindling supplies of medicine and medical supplies.

Right now, more and more people are being forced to relocate – many of them not for the first time – to ever smaller areas. Shelters are full and straining due to severe water and food shortages as a small amount of humanitarian aid enters the Palestinian enclave.

For the first time – since 2017 when he took over as UN Secretary General – Antonio Guterres decided to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter, which allows him to draw the attention of the Council “to a matter which in his opinion will could threaten the maintenance of world peace and security” and calls for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Israel’s reaction was intense, with its ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, breaking out, commenting that Guterres’ attitude is a new low level of morality on his part in terms of his attitude. He even characterized the UN Secretary-General’s call for a ceasefire as “a call to continue Hamas’s reign of terror in the Gaza Strip.”

However, early last night, Benjamin Netanyahu – in a recorded message – reported that Israeli forces were surrounding the home of Hamas leader Yahya Shinwar, stressing that “it’s only a matter of time before we catch him.”

For Israel, the battle for Han Younis is a central priority. In it are the residences of the leaders of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, Yahya and Mohammed Sinwar, however, the Israeli armed forces do not rule out that all three have left the Gaza Strip through the tunnels built underground of the Palestinian enclave to hide in Egypt .

And while Israel’s military operation continues, Hamas and its allies respond by launching attacks.

In particular, the military wing of the organization announced that it launched rockets against Beersheba, 40 kilometers away from the Gaza Strip, in the southern part of Israel. According to the Times of Israel, there were no casualties or injuries, only damage to vehicles. For their part, Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthis said they were responsible for firing rockets at the Israeli city of Eilat, which is also in southern Israel, with the Israeli military stressing that no rockets entered Israeli territory.