In the violence unleashed by the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel, more and more Islamic militant groups are entering the theatre of war. Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group backed by Iran, has reportedly attacked northern Israel from Lebanon, in addition to the attacks on southern Israel carried out by Hamas from Gaza Strip. Fighting has also been reported from West Bank, the landlocked region between Israel and Jordan over which Palestinians have limited autonomy.
According to reports last evening, Israel is evacuating its people from northern areas near the boundary with Lebanon in order to protect them from the Hezbollah attack. Hezbollah is designated a “terrorist” group by several Western nations.
Over the past couple of days, tensions have also been rising in West Bank — it is separated from Gaza Strip by the landmass of Israel — as Israeli troops and Jewish settlers have reportedly clashed there with Palestinians.
While Hamas is the de facto ruler of Gaza Strip, a small Palestinian enclave in the shape of a strip of land, Israel has a much tighter control on the larger West Bank, and it has been carrying out raids in the West Bank following the assault launched by Hamas from Gaza.
Associated Press reported quoting the Israeli military that 220 people, including 130 Hamas operatives, were arrested in these West Bank raids.
Hamas steals fuel meant for Gaza civilians
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has highlighted through social media that it is Hamas’s actions that are putting the Palestinian civilians at risk.
The IDF released on Sunday aerial images showing how Hamas was blocking the vehicle route along which Gaza civilians were trying the escape. Last evening, the IDF posted screenshots of tweets by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The UN agency’s tweet said that “…a group of people with trucks purporting to be from the Ministry of Health of the de facto authorities in #Gaza, removed fuel and medical equipment from the Agency’s compound in #GazaCity”. The “de facto authorities” are none other than Hamas.
Explaining the screenshot of the UN relief agency’s tweet, the IDF posted: “Hamas stole fuel and medical equipment from @UNRWA in Gaza. The amount of fuel stolen is enough to power Gaza’s water desalination facilities for six days. Hamas does not care about the people of Gaza. This remains true even if UNRWA deletes its tweets.”
The X handle of the IDF also posted images of an Israeli home destroyed in the Hamas attacks, saying: “This was a family’s home, full of life, love and laughter. Now, it stands in deafening silence.”
According to the live blog by The Guardian updated last evening: “The Israeli military has said it has confirmed that Hamas is holding 199 hostages in Gaza. The hostages were seized on Saturday 7 October when Hamas fighters broke through the Israeli border fence in southern Israel, and attacked a music festival and multiple locations killing more than 1,300 Israelis.”
