Israel-Gaza war: UN reports shelling of aid convoy – injured in clashes on border with Lebanon

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People on their way from Khan Yunis to the city of Rafah

Photograph:

Ismael Mohamad / IMAGO / UPI Photo

Israel is apparently increasingly focusing its military operations against the terrorist organization Hamas on the south of the Gaza Strip. The army said in a statement that operations had been expanded in the area around the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the area. "The soldiers eliminated terrorist cells with the help of artillery, air and tank troops," the army said.

Explosives were found in the homes of Hamas members, and other tunnels and weapons were discovered. The military's claims could not be independently verified. Israel suspects that the top leadership of the Islamist Hamas is hiding in and under Khan Yunis. The military had previously urged residents of the city to seek safety further south in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

UNRWA reports on attack on aid shipment

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said a transport had been attacked in the northern Gaza Strip. "Israeli soldiers fired on an aid convoy returning from the northern Gaza Strip along a route determined by the Israeli army," UNRWA chief Thomas White wrote on X. According to UNRWA, the incident occurred on Thursday. When asked, the Israeli military said it would investigate the incident.

Shortly before, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths had also denounced "an impossible situation for the people of Gaza and for those who are trying to help them" on X. In the article, he explained that aid convoys had been shelled – but without elaborating.

Gaza Health Authority Reports Dozens Dead in Hours

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip, Israeli strikes again killed scores of people. According to the report, 187 people were killed within one day.

The total number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war rose to 21,507, and 55,915 more people are said to have been injured in the Gaza war. These figures cannot be independently verified, but have proven credible in past Gaza wars. Aid organisations have been warning of a humanitarian catastrophe for some time now (read more about this here).

The war was triggered by the massacre of Hamas and other terrorist groups in Israel on October 7. Some 1140,250 people were killed and 129 others were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. According to the report, <> hostages are still in the Palestinian territory. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive in late October. Because of the high number of civilian casualties, Israel has recently come under increasing international criticism.

Apparently injured in attack on Israeli-Lebanese border

There is great concern that the conflict could spread. Thus, clashes between Israel and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah were reported. According to Lebanese sources, the border town of Aitarun was attacked by a rocket on Friday, injuring two people. The Israeli military claimed to have attacked a Hezbollah "terrorist cell" that was allegedly responsible for firing anti-tank missiles from the Aitarun area.

Israel's military said it had recorded several launches from Lebanon into Israeli territory. In response, the army attacked the places of origin with artillery. Israeli warplanes also attacked Hezbollah's "terrorist infrastructure" in the Wadi Hamul area of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for five attacks on Israel as of Friday afternoon. Several places in the border area were attacked with "suitable weapons," it said. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been repeated confrontations between Israel's army and Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region.

fek/dpa/AFP