Gaza:
Israel claimed its forces had surrounded Gaza city as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv again to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The United States was prepared to pressure Netanyahu to stop the fighting to allow aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.
Gaza health officials say at least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a brutal offensive on the territory of 2.3 million people in retaliation for attacks by Hamas fighters on southern Israel.
With the conflict nearing the end of its fourth week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel to meet with Netanyahu for the second time in a month, as Israeli forces battle Hamas fighters who launch hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels. Were retaliating with. ,
“We are at the height of the battle. We have had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the army said it had surrounded the coastal enclave’s main city. . We are moving forward.”
As Blinken left Washington for the Middle East, he said he would discuss concrete steps to reduce harm to civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, the White House said any pause in the fighting should be temporary and local, and stressed that they would not prevent Israel from defending itself.
Severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, as well as increasing casualties among Palestinian civilians, have intensified calls by global leaders for a halt to the fighting or a ceasefire.
Israel has rejected those calls, saying it targets Hamas fighters whom it accuses of deliberately hiding among the population and civilian buildings. The White House has also rejected calls for a ceasefire.
A group of independent UN experts warned that Palestinians in Gaza face a “serious risk of genocide”.
“We call on Israel and its allies to agree to an immediate ceasefire. We are running out of time,” the UN Special Envoys Group said in a statement.
The Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva described the correspondent’s comments as “reprehensible and extremely worrying” and blamed Hamas for the civilian deaths. Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said genocide could only be determined by a relevant UN judicial body.
The White House said Thursday it was considering a series of disruptions in the conflict.
US national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters, “What we’re trying to do is explore the idea of staying as long as necessary to continue the work of getting help in and getting people out safely, including the hostages.” Is.”
Blinken was also scheduled to meet with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman on Saturday. Safadi said in a statement that Israel should end the war on Gaza, where he said it was committing war crimes by bombing and imposing siege on civilians.
The Gulf Arab power, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), warned on Friday that tensions in the Middle East are “approaching boiling point” and that it is working “relentlessly” to reach an immediate and complete humanitarian ceasefire.
“The risk of regional spillover and further escalation is real, as well as the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation to advance ideologies that will lock us into a cycle of violence,” said Minister of State Noura al-Kaabi. ” Foreign Affairs, told a conference in Abu Dhabi.
Hamas fighters emerge from the tunnels
Amid heavy explosions in Gaza, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that his country’s troops have completed the siege of Gaza City, the center point of the Hamas terrorist organization.
Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, head of Israel’s military engineers, said troops were facing landmines and booby traps.
“Hamas has learned and prepared itself well,” he said.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, said in a televised speech on Thursday that the Israeli death toll in Gaza was much higher than the military had announced. He said, “Your soldiers will return in black bags.”
Israel said it had lost 18 soldiers and claimed its forces had killed dozens of Palestinian fighters since expanding ground operations last Friday.
Residents said and video from both groups showed Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad fighters emerging from tunnels to fire at the tanks and then disappearing into the network.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US was flying intelligence-gathering drones over Gaza to help locate the hostages. One of the officials said they had been conducting drone flights for more than a week.
More foreigners due to withdrawal
The limited evacuation of some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some injured Gazans was to open for a third day on Friday under a Qatar-brokered deal.
According to border officials, more than 700 foreign nationals left for Egypt via Rafah in the past two days. Dozens of seriously injured Palestinians also had to cross. Israel asked foreign countries to send hospital ships to them.
Thailand said it was in contact with Iran and other governments to reach out to Hamas for the safe release of about two dozen Thai citizens held hostage.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Parnpri Bahidha-Nukara said Friday that Iran, which is close to Hamas, has promised to help in negotiations.
More than a third of Gaza’s 35 hospitals are no longer functioning, with many suddenly transformed into refugee camps.
“The situation is terrible,” the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said, describing packed corridors and too many doctors.
