Gaza [Palestine], January 2: The Zionist entity warned the Gaza war will continue throughout 2024 as unrelenting strikes killed dozens in the Palestinian territory and Hamas fired a rocket barrage at the stroke of midnight. Zionist military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that some of the 300,000 army reservists would get a break from the war, in order to prepare for the "prolonged fighting" ahead. The army "must plan ahead, understanding that we will be required for additional tasks and warfare throughout this year," Hagari said as the conflict raged on.
Heavy artillery fire again pounded Hamas-run Gaza, killing at least 24 people, health ministry officials there said, with attacks reported across the length of the territory. In the besieged Gaza Strip, where the UN says 85 percent of the population has been displaced, 20-year-old Hamdan Abu Arab said he hoped "2024 will be better". "We used to go out and enjoy our time on the last day of the year," he recalled. "But this New Year's Eve, there are only missiles and the remains of people."
According to the health ministry, 15 dead bodies from the same family were recovered Monday from the rubble of a bombed house in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. "It's the worst year of our lives. They have killed our sons," Sami Hamouda, 64, told AFP. "Every new day is like the previous one: Bombings, death and mass killings."
Hamas marked the start of the year by firing a rocket barrage at the Zionist entity in what it called a "response to the massacres of civilians". AFP journalists in Tel Aviv witnessed missile defense systems intercept rockets overhead as some revelers ran for cover. "My heart was pounding," said one, Gabriel Zemelman, 26, shortly after the rocket fire. "It's terrifying."
The Zionist entity has vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a punishing offensive that has reduced vast areas of Gaza to a ruined wasteland and killed at least 21,978 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry. The Zionist army says 172 soldiers have been killed inside Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that the fighting would last "many months until Hamas is eliminated and the hostages are returned". Since the Zionist entity imposed a siege at the outset of the war, Gazans have been facing dire shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine - eased only by aid trucks, about 120 of which entered on Sunday. "We are exhausted... We were displaced five times during this war," said 29-year-old Bassam Hana. "We hope things improve in 2024 and that we live just like any other human being. Currently, we live like animals."
One Palestinian man, Bilal Emad Abu Haykal, recounted how, weeks ago, Zionist tanks rolled up outside his home in northern Gaza's Beit Lahia. He was told to head south but was then stopped on the road by soldiers, who took the men's clothes ahead of questioning them, he said, recounting that "we stayed on the road without any food or water". "When they took us, the buildings here were still standing. But when we came back at night, we found the houses in ruins or on fire. All was turned into ruins or destroyed, I didn't even recognize the streets of Beit Lahia - destruction that I cannot describe."
International mediators have continued efforts toward a new pause in fighting. A Hamas delegation from Qatar visited Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian three-phase plan proposing renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to Hamas said. Their allies Islamic Jihad said on Saturday that Palestinian factions were evaluating the proposal and would give a response "within days".
The war in Gaza has raised fears of a broader regional conflict, with hostilities flaring with mostly Iran-backed militant groups in nearby countries who say they are acting in support of Hamas. The Zionist army said Sunday night it had intercepted two "hostile aircraft" flying from Syria towards the Zionist entity. Earlier it had reported launches toward the Zionist entity from Lebanon, where it has fought the Hezbollah militant group. - AFP
Source: Kuwait Times
