Israel sends more troops into territory, dashing hopes of quick end to war after Yahya Sinwar’s death
At least 72 Palestinians were reportedly killed on Friday as Israel launched new airstrikes and sent more troops into Gaza, dashing brief hopes among many residents of the territory that Thursday’s killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, could bring an end to the war.
At least 33 people were killed and 85 injured in Israeli strikes that hit several houses on Friday in Jabalia in northern Gaza, medics said, where residents said tanks blew up roads and houses.
Hamas confirmed the death of Yahya Sinwar in a defiant message that vowed the group would be undeterred by his killing. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said its leader’s death “will only increase the strength and solidity of our movement”, adding that the group will not release the hostages it is holding captive in Gaza until Israel ends the war. Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam brigades, vowed to keep fighting Israel until the “liberation of Palestine” as it mourned Sinwar’s death.
Israeli military officials said Israel was sending reinforcements to bolster its operation in Jabalia, raising fears of an escalation of violence there. Israel has issued evacuation orders for inhabitants in almost all of northern Gaza, but many cannot or do not want to comply. Tens of thousands of civilians are thought to be trapped in Jabalia, where conditions are deteriorating. Health officials have appealed for fuel, medical supplies and food to be sent immediately to three northern Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by the number of patients injured in Israeli attacks.
Supporters of pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq ransacked the offices of a Saudi TV channel in Baghdad early on Saturday, a security source said, after the broadcaster aired a report referring to commanders of Tehran-backed militant groups as “terrorists”. Agence France-Presse reported that 400 to 500 people attacked the Baghdad studios of Saudi broadcaster MBC after midnight. “They wrecked the electronic equipment, the computers, and set fire to a part of the building,” an interior ministry source said on condition of anonymity. The fire had been extinguished and the crowd dispersed by police, he said.
More than 42,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began, according to the Palestinian health ministry on Friday. Almost 100,000 have been injured. Six medical humanitarian groups were informed this week that their medical missions will now be denied entry into Gaza.
The leaders of the US, the UK, France and Germany released a joint statement where they stressed the “immediate necessity” for ending the war in Gaza. The leaders discussed events in the Middle East, particularly the “implications” of Sinwar’s death, as well as the need to “bring the hostages home to their families, for ending the war in Gaza and ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians”. Biden said Sinwar’s death raises “the prospect of a ceasefire” and “represents a moment of justice”.
