”Today, we control 40 percent of the territory in Gaza city. The operation will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days”, says the Israeli military's spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, in a video message.
”We will increase the pressure on Hamas until we have defeated them”, he continues.
On Thursday, at least 44 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. At least 25 of them are said to have been killed in Gaza city, where the UN has established that full-blown famine prevails.
Scaling up
The Israeli military has scaled up the attacks ahead of its planned major offensive against the million-city, which Israel's President Benjamin Netanyahu has described as the last ”terror stronghold” in Gaza.
Further south, in the refugee camp Nuseirat, seven people were killed, including three children, according to the civil defense in Gaza.
Yousef Suleiman tells the news agency AFP that four of his relatives, including two children, were killed in the attack.
The entire tent was destroyed, along with everyone who was inside, he says.
64,000 killed
After nearly two years of war, the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded 64,000 people, according to the local health authority.
Hamas stated in a statement on Wednesday that it is prepared to release the entire remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office dismissed the proposal as manipulation and stated that the war will continue until all hostages are returned, Hamas is defeated, and Gaza is under full Israeli control.
