The Israeli army approves a plan for a new offensive to control more areas of the Gaza Strip: attacks leave more than 170 dead in 48 hours.
The Israeli army announced Wednesday that it had approved the "framework" for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the capture of Gaza City, the main settlement in the Palestinian territory. The approval of this new plan comes amid the intensification of bombings on the Palestinian enclave, which has left more than 170 dead in the last 48 hours.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir "approved the main framework of the army's operational plan in the Gaza Strip," according to a military statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not provided a timetable for the entry of Israeli forces into the city, where thousands of people have sought refuge after fleeing previous offensives.
According to the Gaza Civil Defense, Israeli airstrikes have intensified in recent days.
Families of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas protest. Photo: AFP
The plan's approval was announced hours after Hamas announced that a delegation from the Islamist movement had arrived in Cairo for "preliminary talks" with Egyptian authorities regarding a temporary truce.
Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza after 22 months of fighting have sparked international criticism and domestic opposition.
UN-backed experts have warned of famine in the territory , where Israel has drastically limited the entry of humanitarian aid.
The Hamas attack in October 2023 that sparked the war killed 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
Humanitarian aid dropped on Gaza. Photo: EFE
At least 55 people died this Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, 26 of them near humanitarian aid points, local sources confirmed to EFE, coinciding with the Israeli Army's approval of the plan for the next phase of the offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
Sources in the enclave reported that the Baptist Hospital in Gaza received 14 deaths, mostly victims of bombings in the Al Zaytun neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the Al Shifa Medical Complex recorded another 14 deaths from airstrikes in different districts of the city, and one more patient died from his injuries.
Palestinians, mostly children, push to receive a meal in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Photo: AFP
Meanwhile, at least 26 Gazans died near humanitarian aid points in various locations in the enclave: seven in Zikim, north of the capital; five in Wadi Gaza, south of the capital; and 14 more at the Al Tina point, near the southern city of Khan Yunis. This adds to the 1,859 deaths at humanitarian aid centers.
The Army has not yet commented on these incidents.
These deaths are in addition to at least 123 more Gazans who died on Tuesday, and 437 were injured, according to the death toll released by the Gaza Ministry of Health on Wednesday. This brings the death toll to more than 178 in about 48 hours.
The latest victims arriving at the territory's understaffed hospitals brought the total death toll from the Israeli offensive in Gaza to 61,722, of whom 1,859 died while seeking humanitarian aid, according to health authorities in the enclave, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.
Palestinians mourn over the shrouded bodies of their dead loved ones. Photo: AFP
The total number of wounded has also risen to 154,525, including 13,594 who were also searching for food, since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.
The Ministry of Health also reported an increase in deaths from hunger and malnutrition, which now reach 235, including 106 children.
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