Israel bombed areas of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, with fighting throughout yesterday morning, residents and Palestinian media said, as the Israeli military announced a mounting death toll in clashes with Hamas militants.
Israel says it has achieved almost complete operational control over northern Gaza and is preparing to expand a ground offensive to other areas, but Jabalia residents reported persistent aerial bombardments and shelling from Israeli tanks, which they said had moved further into the town on Saturday.
The Israeli military appeared to be meeting stiff resistance.
Photo: AFP
It said yesterday that eight soldiers had been killed in the Strip, bringing to 154 its published combat losses since it began its ground incursion in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostage.
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed the “objectives and phasing” of Israel’s military operations, the White House said in a statement on Saturday.
Biden “emphasized the critical need to protect the civilian population, including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting,” the White House said.
Photo: AFP
“The leaders discussed the importance of securing the release of all remaining hostages,” it added.
However, Netanyahu, speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting yesterday, dismissed reports that the US had convinced Israel not to expand its military campaign.
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday reported that Netanyahu was persuaded by Biden not to attack the militant Hezbollah group in neighboring Lebanon out of concerns it would launch an attack on Israel.
“Israel is a sovereign state,” Netanyahu said. “Our decisions in the war are based on our operational considerations, and I will not elaborate on that.”
The Palestinian death toll has reached 20,258, the Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday, with thousands more bodies believed trapped under rubble.
Israel has long urged residents to leave northern areas of Gaza, but its forces have been bombarding targets in central and southern parts of the coastal enclave.
In Rafah, on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, an Israeli air strike on a house killed two people, Palestinian medics said.
“They ask people to head to Deir al-Balah [in central Gaza], where they bomb day and night,” Ziad, a medic and father of six, said by telephone.
“International law has collapsed,” said Ramzy Aidy, a Gaza resident with a doctorate in law. “If Israel were in the Palestinians’ position, the world would not stand still and would act.”
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
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DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
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