Israel announced this Tuesday the launch of an operation to flood Gaza underground tunnels used by Hamas, as part of the new offensive scheduled by Israeli forces. They also indicated that Israel will not withdraw from Palestinian territory or release contingents of terrorists to reach a truce for which the international community is pressing.
The flood “is part of the tools deployed (…) to neutralize the threat of Hamas tunnel network“said the Israeli Army in a statement.
“The Israel Defense Forces have implemented new capabilities during the war, with the aim of neutralizing underground terrorist infrastructure, even channeling large volumes of water into them“, they reported through a statement published in X.
A military spokesman explained that the new offensive is based on a pump and pipe system used only in places considered appropriate and that, for this purpose, special and highly technological units were quickly formed.
The initiative generated as many supporters as rejections.
A newspaper investigation The Wall Street Journal published in December cited statements by US officials who spoke in favor of the mechanism since they considered that it could help destroy the tunnels, where Israel suspects the militant group is hiding hostages, fighters and ammunition.
Conflict in the Gaza Strip. Photos: AFP
At the other extreme, several experts warned last month that Flooding of tunnels with water pumped from the Mediterranean could be dangerous for besieged civilians in Gazabut the army assured that precautions were taken not to “damage the groundwater in the area.”
The conflict broke out on October 7 with the incursion of Islamist commandos that They killed about 1,140 peoplemostly civilians, and They kidnapped nearly 250 victims in southern Israel, according to an agency report AFPbased on official Israeli data.
About a hundred hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during a week-long truce in late November. Of the 132 held captive in Gaza, an estimated 28 died.
The offensive launched by Israel with the aim of “annihilating” Hamas has so far left 26,751 dead, mostly women, children and minorsaccording to the Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas since 2007.
International pressure for a truce
The head of American intelligence, William Burnsmet on Sunday in Paris with senior Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials to outline a ceasefire project.
Hamas confirmed this Tuesday that it received a proposal and that it is “studying” it.
A senior official in the movement, Taher al Nunu, insisted that Hamas wanted a “complete and total ceasefire and not a temporary truce”.
The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, indicated that the plan includes a gradual truce that would initially allow free women and children held hostage in Gaza and bring humanitarian aid into the territory.
The November truce allowed hostages held in Gaza to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel.
The inflexible stance of the Israeli prime minister
But the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuput limits on the concessions it could make.
“We will not withdraw the army from the Gaza Strip or free thousands of terrorists. None of that will happen”stressed the prime minister.
The international pressure comes amid fears of a spread of the conflict, which exacerbates tensions in the region.
Benjamin Netanyahu.
The president of United States, Joe Bidenaffirmed that he is not seeking an escalation, but said that he has already decided what the United States‘ response will be to the drone attack, attributed to Iran, that killed three soldiers from his country in Jordan.
“I don’t think we need a broader war in the Middle East. It’s not what I’m looking for.”he assured, without giving more details about the measures he decided to adopt.
The Hezbollah Brigades, an influential pro-Iran militia in Iraq, announced shortly afterwards the “suspension” of its military operations against the American “occupation” troops, “to avoid inconvenience to the Iraqi government.”
Three US soldiers killed in attack on military base in Middle East
Khan Yunis, epicenter of the fighting
In the Gaza Strip, the fighting is centered on Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, reduced to rubble.
Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group, reported clashes with Israeli troops near that town and in other parts of the Strip, including Gaza City, in the north.
In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, in the far south, dozens of bodies were buried in a mass grave, after Israel returned remains of exhumed Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources.
The Hague Court ordered Israel to stop deaths in Gaza
UNRWA, a “front” for Hamas, according to Israel
More than 80% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have become “internally displaced people,” according to the UN.
On October 9, Israel imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, preventing the entry of water, food, fuel and medicine.
Most inhabitants face risks of famine and disease.
Twelve countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany, suspended their financing of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)following Israeli accusations that a dozen of its employees were involved in the October 7 attack.
The heads of 14 United Nations agencies warned in a joint statement that cutting this funding “will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza” and “would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system” in the territory.
The UN coordinator for aid in Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, said that no organization can “replace or substitute” the “tremendous capacity, the fabric of UNRWA: the skill and its knowledge of the population in Gaza.”
Israel claimed, however, that UNRWA served as a “front” for Hamas, allowing it to “use its facilities for military activities.”
CA/ED