Palestinian enclave - The African Mirror

Nov

2023

Thousands of civilians flee north Gaza as Israeli troops and Hamas fighters battle

THOUSANDS of Palestinian civilians trudged in a forlorn procession out of the north of Gaza seeking refuge from Israeli air strikes and fierce ground fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants. The exodus took place in a four-hour window of opportunity announced by Israel, which has told residents to evacuate the north encircled by its armoured forces or risk being trapped in the violence. But the central and southern parts of the small, besieged Palestinian enclave also came under fire again as the war between its Islamist Hamas rulers and Israel entered its second month. Palestinian health officials said an air strike…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

France says it’s in talks with Egypt on setting up field hospital for Gaza wounded

NEWS

FRANCE is in talks with Egypt to establish a military medical facility on the ground, which would include surgical capacities for people seriously wounded in the neighbouring Gaza Strip, France's defence minister said in remarks published. Paris will host an international humanitarian conference for the civilian population in Gaza later this week as it looks to coordinate international efforts for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave. Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and troops seized a militant compound in the past 24 hours, the Israel Defence Forces said on Monday, while the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said the air strikes killed…

Nov

2023

By SAMIA NAKHOUL, LAILA BASSAM and MATT SPETALNIC

How Hamas aims to trap Israel in Gaza quagmire

WORLD

HAMAS has prepared for a long, drawn-out war in the Gaza Strip and believes it can hold up Israel's advance long enough to force its arch enemy to agree to a ceasefire, two sources close to the organization's leadership said. Hamas, which rules Gaza, has stockpiled weapons, missiles, food and medical supplies, according to the people, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation. The group is confident its thousands of fighters can survive for months in a city of tunnels carved deep beneath the Palestinian enclave and frustrate Israeli forces with urban guerrilla tactics, the…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Gaza evacuees crossing into Egypt fear for those left behind

WORLD

PEOPLE hoping to leave the Gaza Strip converged on the Rafah crossing to Egypt, with those whose names were on a list vetted by Israel gradually passing through while others held up their foreign passports in vain. The crossing was open for limited evacuations for a second day under a Qatar-brokered deal between Israel, Egypt, Hamas and the United States, aimed at letting some foreign passport holders and their dependents, and some wounded Gazans, out of the besieged enclave. "I'm not even excited to leave Gaza because we have so many people that we love and care about," said Suzan…

Oct

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and HENRIETTE CHACAR

Israeli forces attack north Gaza’s main city from both sides

WORLD

ISRAELI troops and tanks attacked Gaza's main northern city from both sides, three days after they began a major ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave that has stirred more international appeals for civilians to be protected. Israel's military said it had struck more than 600 militant targets over the past few days as it expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian civilians are in dire need of fuel, food and clean water as the war enters its fourth week. Islamist militants said they had repelled an attempted thrust from Israeli tanks into Gaza City from the east and…

Oct

2023

By NELLIE PEYTON

South Africa calls for UN force to protect civilians in Gaza

NEWS

SOUTH Africa called for the United Nations to deploy a rapid protection force to protect civilians in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza from further bombardment as Israel steps up its retaliation for a deadly attack by the militant group Hamas. South Africa has long been an advocate for peace in the region, likening the plight of Palestinians to its own under the apartheid regime that ended in 1994. In calling for a protection force, South Africa has gone further in its support for the Palestinians than most nations, some of which have called for a ceasefire or the opening of…

Oct

2023

By JANIS LAIZANS

Freed Israeli hostage says ‘I’ve been through hell’

WORLD

AN elderly Israeli hostage who was released by Hamas overnight said she had been beaten by militants when she was abducted and taken to Gaza on October 7, but was then treated well during her two-week captivity in the Palestinian enclave. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was one of two elderly women freed late on Monday, leaving around 220 hostages still in the hands of Hamas, including both of their husbands. "I've been through hell," Lifshitz told reporters, speaking in barely a whisper and seated in a wheelchair outside the Tel Aviv hospital where she was taken following her release. Looking frail, Lifshitz said…

Oct

2023

By HATEM MAHER

Liverpool’s Salah calls for end to ‘massacres’ in Gaza

FOOTBALL

LIVERPOOL forward Mohamed Salah called for an end to what he described as "massacres" in Gaza, saying humanitarian aid must immediately be allowed into the besieged Palestinian enclave. Salah released a video message on his social media accounts, making his first comments on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict after coming in for some fierce criticism in his native Egypt for staying silent on the issue for over a week. The Gaza health ministry said at least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and 12,065 injured in Israeli air strikes on Gaza since October 7, the day Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed into…

Oct

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and EMILY ROSE

Israeli defence chief says troops will soon see Gaza ‘from inside’

WORLD

ISRAELI Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave "from inside", suggesting an expected ground invasion with the aim of annihilating Hamas could be nearing. Israel pounded Gaza with more air strikes on Thursday over the October 7 rampage by Hamas gunmen who killed 1,400 Israelis. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed U.S. President Joe Biden with a visit to demonstrate Western support for the war against Hamas militants. Israel has put the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people under siege and bombarded the enclave in strikes that have killed…

Oct

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

In deadly day for Gaza, hospital strike kills hundreds

WORLD

GAZA'S health ministry spokesman said an Israeli air strike has killed hundreds of people at a hospital in the Palestinian enclave, but Israel said a Palestinian barrage had caused the blast. The death toll was by far the highest of any single incident in Gaza during the current violence, triggering protests in the occupied West Bank, Istanbul and Amman. The Palestinian Authority's health minister, Mai Alkaila, accused Israel of "a massacre" at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital. The strike killed hundreds of people and occurred during Israel's intense 11-day bombing campaign in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "barbaric terrorists" in Gaza…