New statement from the Israeli Army: 'We are continuing to expand our ground invasion in Gaza'

Israeli Army Spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated in a press conference that they would continue to expand their ground invasion in Gaza, saying, "The Israeli army is moving toward every Hamas stronghold."

Stating that "heavy air support is being used to support ground troops" advancing in urban areas, Hagari noted that there are still 137 hostages in the Gaza Strip, claiming that "the hostages are constantly on their minds, they are continuously conducting intelligence and operational assessments regarding this, and they are constantly gathering intelligence to avoid putting the hostages' lives at risk while using force."

Hagari also reported that the Israeli army's ground and air attacks against Hezbollah in the north are continuing, and that a rocket fired from Lebanese territory today hit a military vehicle in the Beit Hillel area, resulting in injuries.

MESSAGES FROM GENERALS

As the Israeli army attempts to advance its ground invasion in the blockaded Gaza Strip toward the south, armored and tank units fired illumination flares at the east of Khan Yunis, a city with dense residential areas in the city center, and bombarded the area.

An AA correspondent in Gaza reported that Israeli army tank and armored units have deployed to the east of Khan Yunis, and that the region is under bombardment from both land and air.

Numerous Israeli army surveillance and attack drones are flying over the region. "Sounds of intense clashes" are coming from areas where Israeli tanks and armored vehicles previously advanced and later withdrew.

Dozens of families from areas in Khan Yunis where clashes have intensified are trying to migrate to central areas of Khan Yunis under bombardment.

The Deir al-Balah region, northeast of Khan Yunis, is also under heavy tank and artillery fire.

The Israeli army has fired numerous illumination flares into the area.

UN: PEOPLE IN EASTERN KHAN YUNIS HAVE NOT LEFT THE REGION

The agreement for a 4-day "humanitarian pause" in the clashes between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Friday, November 24, at 07:00 (08:00 Turkish time) and was later extended for another 3 days.

The Israeli army resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip immediately after the "humanitarian pause" ended on December 1.

The city of Khan Yunis, located 4 kilometers inland from the sea in the south of Gaza, is known as the most densely populated area in the Strip after the city center, with a population of approximately 207,000 in a 54-square-kilometer area before the war.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) added in its latest regional report that the Israeli army dropped aerial warning leaflets on December 1 for the people in eastern Khan Yunis to "migrate south," but that no significant civilian population migration had been observed as of Saturday evening.

OCHA underscored that under international humanitarian law, warring parties are "responsible for the safe evacuation of civilians."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) shared that approximately 958,000 Palestinians have taken shelter in 99 different centers in the center, Khan Yunis, and Rafah near the Egyptian border. UNRWA announced the number of Palestinians forced to migrate in the Gaza Strip, which the Israeli army is attacking heavily, as 1.8 million.

LATEST SITUATION IN ISRAEL'S INVASION OF GAZA

Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, launched a comprehensive attack on the morning of October 7, citing the need to "respond to Israel's continuous violations against Palestinians and their sacred values, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque," while the Israeli army launched a heavy aerial bombardment on the Gaza Strip.

It was announced that 1,200 Israelis, more than 310 of whom were soldiers, were killed and 5,132 people were injured in the attacks in Israel on October 7. According to the Israeli army, 72 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the clashes in Gaza and 6 on the Lebanon border since October 7.

According to the government in Gaza, the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since October 7 has risen to 15,523, including more than 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women.

In the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, 254 Palestinians have lost their lives in attacks by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers since October 7.

The Israeli army has struck the compounds or main buildings of dozens of hospitals where tens of thousands of wounded and civilians have taken shelter in Gaza in order to force their evacuation. It raided some hospitals during the occupation.

Hundreds of people were killed and injured in the attacks.

While 22 civilians have lost their lives in the Israeli army's attacks on southern Lebanon since October 8, 89 Hezbollah members have been killed in clashes with Hezbollah at the border.

News Source: AA