Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – War between the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and Israel is still ongoing. The escalation became sharper after Israel launched repeated retaliatory attacks on the Gaza area.
Hamas’ allies in Lebanon and Yemen also did not miss out on attacks on Israel.
The following are the latest developments as collected by CNBC Indonesia from various sources, Friday (3/11/2023):
1. Israel surrounds Gaza
The Israeli military said it had surrounded Gaza, Thursday evening local time. This was confirmed by Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari after days of expanding ground operations.
“The Israeli army has completed the siege of Gaza city, the center of the Hamas terror organization,” Hagari was quoted as telling reporters AFPFriday (3/11/2023).
“The concept of a ceasefire is currently not at all discussed,” he added.
The same thing was also published in the Al-Jazeera report. Hagari said Israeli forces “attacked outposts, Hamas headquarters, launched positions and launched infrastructure”.
“We are involved in face-to-face combat,” he was quoted as saying by the Qatari media.
In the observation of local journalists, it was also mentioned how Israeli tanks entered the city. One of them is at Al-Shifa and Jalan Eldeen.
“Heavy firefights took place between the battle groups and Israeli tanks trying to enter the city center,” the report added.
From the same report, the situation in Gaza is reported to be increasingly tense. Friday morning, the sound of ambulances reportedly roared through the area.
2. Biden gives a new call
The situation in Gaza, Palestine is getting worse. Most recently, the Israeli military said it had surrounded the enclave with its ground troops.
However, the United States (US) did not call for a ceasefire, as did 120 countries at the UN, last week. Israel’s ally instead voiced a “humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict”, Thursday evening (2/11/2023).
This was conveyed by a senior White House official, after President Joe Biden was urged by one of the citizens in a public appearance to call for a ceasefire in the war. “I think we need a pause,” Biden said.
Later, speaking to reporters, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby clarified what he meant by the pause. However, AFP emphasized that this was far from the generally requested ceasefire.
“The humanitarian pause… is temporary, localized and focused, focused on a specific goal or target, humanitarian aid goes in, people go out,” Kirby said.
“The general idea is that within that geographic area, for a limited time, there will be a cessation of hostilities, sufficient to allow whatever you allow,” he explained.
3. Iranian proxies hit Israeli military bases
Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, reportedly carried out the attack Thursday. In a report on the same page, Hezbollah admitted to attacking 19 Israeli police in a “coordinated attack”.
The group, which is also based in Lebanon, said they attacked Israeli military positions along the border simultaneously at 15.30 yesterday. It said it targeted the positions with “missiles, artillery fire” and other weapons.
Previously, the Houthi group in Yemen, which is an ally of Hezbollah, was also reported to have attacked Israel. A number drones fired Wednesday.
“The drones hit the target,” a Houthi spokesman was quoted as saying in the update Al Jazeera. “We will continue to carry out military operations in support of the Palestinian people until Israeli aggression in Gaza stops.”
4. Hamas responds to Israel’s siege
The armed group that also rules the Palestinian Gaza Strip, Hamas, has opened its voice about Israel, which is said to have surrounded Gaza. The latest statement was made by Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, on Thursday (2/11/2023).
In its release, Hamas threatened Israel that the siege would be a historical curse for the Jewish State. The group said that if Israel continued to press, they would take steps that would have disastrous consequences for West Jerusalem, which Zionists claim is Israel’s capital.
“There will be many casualties among Israeli troops. More Israeli soldiers will return in black bags,” said the militant group’s spokesman, Abu Obeida.
5. The US provides assistance to Israel
The Republican-led US House of Representatives passed a bill that would give Israel US$14 billion or around Rp. 221 trillion. However, this will cut the tax agency’s budget.
6. Aid is blocked in North Gaza
Gaza City and northern Gaza are “largely cut off” from the rest of the region as a result of Israeli ground operations and related clashes with Palestinian armed groups. This was conveyed by the UN Assistance Coordinator, OCHA.
This means that the delivery of humanitarian aid from the south to around 300,000 internally displaced people in the north has “stopped”.
OCHA reported that on Wednesday ten trucks carrying water, food and medicine entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing on the territory’s southern border with Egypt, bringing the total number of aid trucks allowed in since October 21 to 227 trucks.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, who just completed a visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said that “the trucks that have crossed into Gaza so far after painstaking negotiations are providing aid but not enough”.
The entry of essential fuel for hospitals, ambulances and water desalination plants is still prohibited by Israeli authorities.
7. Child death toll has skyrocketed
The number of children killed in Gaza in the last three weeks is more than the total number of people killed in conflicts around the world. This has been calculated since 2019.
The non-governmental organization Save the Children said that according to data on Sunday, at least 3,324 children had been killed in Gaza since October 7, while 36 children died in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Friday (3/11/2023), 3,760 children out of a total of 9,061 residents were killed in the Gaza Strip.
Citing a report from the UN Secretary General on children and armed conflict, Save the Children said a total of 2,985 children were killed in 24 countries in 2022. Meanwhile, there were 2,515 in 2021 and 2,674 in 2020 in 22 countries.
“The death of one child is one too many, but this is an enormously serious violation,” Save the Children’s Palestine Director Jason Lee was quoted as saying Al Jazeera.
He also called for a ceasefire. According to him, this is important to ensure children’s safety.
“A ceasefire is the only way to ensure their safety,” he added.
“The international community must put people before politics. Every day spent arguing leads to children being killed and injured. Children must be protected at all times, especially when they seek safety in schools and hospitals,” he explained.
8. US Secretary of State visits Israel
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israel’s war cabinet in Tel Aviv, following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the State Department.
Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday to meet with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. He was accompanied by the newly confirmed US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew.
This is Blinken’s third visit to Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack.
In remarks to the media before leaving Washington on Thursday, Blinken said he planned to talk to the Israeli government about the “ongoing campaign against the Hamas terrorist organization” and “steps that need to be taken to protect civilians.”
9. Saudi neighbors are starting to worry
Extremist groups could “take advantage” of the conflicts in Israel and Gaza and cause more regional violence. This was conveyed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE Foreign Ministry official Noura Al Kaabi said the world cannot ignore the broader context and the need to bring down regional temperatures that are approaching boiling point.
“The risk of regional spread and further escalation is real, as is the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of this situation to advance ideologies that will keep us trapped in a cycle of violence,” he said, adding that “strong diplomacy and cooperation between countries in the world is a real thing.”
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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