Israeli Forces Advance in Northern and Southern Gaza; Israeli Army: We Have Started Targeted Attacks in Beit Hanoun

The Israeli army announced on Thursday that Israeli forces have begun targeted attacks in Beit Hanoun "to eliminate terrorists, find and strike at terrorist infrastructure above and below ground." The Hamas Interior Ministry in Gaza also stated that a senior Hamas security official was killed during an Israeli attack while visiting residential areas of Gaza City. Health officials and Hamas media reported that Israeli forces killed at least 38 Palestinians through airstrikes and ground shelling in the Gaza Strip. According to Reuters, they also mentioned that Israeli forces engaged closely with Hamas militants in areas south of Rafah. Residents of the area reported that Israeli tanks advanced in southeastern Rafah and continued their operations in three areas of eastern Rafah's suburbs. Simultaneous Israeli attacks on the northern and southern edges of Gaza this month have caused a fresh migration of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, cutting off main access routes for humanitarian aid and increasing the risk of famine. Despite international protests and concerns regarding civilian casualties in Rafah, Israel claims it has no choice but to attack this southern city of the Gaza Strip to root out the last battalions of Hamas fighters, whom Jerusalem believes have taken refuge there. UNRWA, the main UN agency in Gaza, estimated that over 800,000 people have fled Rafah since the beginning of the Israeli attack on the city in early May. Israel had previously asked civilians to leave certain areas in Rafah. Supporters of the Israeli military operation in Rafah argue that this displacement shows that Israel's measures to reduce civilian casualties are feasible. The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip began with a terrorist attack by Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, supported by the Iranian government, on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians. Hamas leaders have repeatedly emphasized that they would carry out such an attack again if capable. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Israeli army claims that since last November, 286 soldiers have been killed in Gaza, including three soldiers on Wednesday. Blinken stated that the US and Saudi Arabia are "very close" to a security and defense agreement. Israel: The UN has rolled out the red carpet for Raisi, both alive and dead. The US: Normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia requires calm in Gaza and negotiations for Palestinian governance. The decision by Norway, Spain, and Ireland to recognize the Palestinian state; Israel has recalled its ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo.