Newsdeck

Newsdeck

Israel Latest: Israel Says Troops Moving to Heart of Gaza City

Israel Latest: Israel Says Troops Moving to Heart of Gaza City
SOUTHERN ISRAEL - NOVEMBER 06: An Israeli artillery unit fires from the Israeli side of the border towards the Gaza Strip on November 06, 2023 in southern Israel. Nearly one month into Israel's response to Hamas's Oct 7 attacks that left 1,400 dead and over 240 kidnapped according to Israeli authorities, the country has intensified its aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip and launched a ground invasion to vanquish the militant group that governs the Palestinian territory. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that more than 10,000 people have died there during Israel's offensive. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Photographer: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe

Israel said its troops are fighting inside Gaza City as they move toward its heart from the north and south, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country could keep security control over Gaza for an “indefinite period,” suggesting a longer-term role in the besieged territory.

Netanyahu spoke to ABC News as the war with Hamas entered its second month. The UN warned that more maternity supplies, fuel and water are needed in Gaza, where it estimates about 180 women give birth daily.

The shekel recouped its losses since the war started, thanks in part to Bank of Israel support. Many investors are also more optimistic the conflict will largely be contained to Gaza, rather than becoming a regional war.

Click here for more on the war between Israel and Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union.

(All time stamps are Israeli time)

Aid Convoy Comes Under Fire, Red Cross Says (12:30 a.m.)

The International Committee of the Red Cross said a humanitarian aid convoy came under fire in the Gaza Strip. The ICRC did not specify the source of fire, but said it was “deeply troubled” over the episode.

A driver was lightly wounded and two of the five trucks were damaged. The trucks were carrying medical supplies to health facilities, including Al Quds hospital in Gaza City, which Israel has demanded evacuation amidst bombings in the vicinity of the medical center. Thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought shelter at the hospital. The convoy changed course and delivered the aid to the Al-Shifa hospital in the city according to the Red Cross.

US Having ‘Tough Conversations’ With Israel Over Gaza Bombing (9:19 p.m.)

The Biden administration is talking to Israel about respecting humanitarian law and keeping its airstrikes against the Gaza Strip proportional, Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, amid growing condemnation of the civilian toll.

“We’re going to continue to have these kinds of conversations,” Singh said at a briefing. “That’s what a good partner does — is also having these tough conversations.”

Singh declined to say if Israel has violated international or humanitarian law with its strikes against the Gaza Strip, and said the US puts no conditions on the use of weapons it sends to Israel. But the US has been “very clear that humanitarian law, proportionality, always be taken into consideration when conducting any kind of response within Gaza,” she said.

Israel Says Displaced Gazans Allowed to Return: WSJ (8:47 p.m.)

Gazans who leave the area or are internally displaced would be allowed to return once the fighting is over, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

“After we eliminate Hamas, everyone can go back to their homes,” Cohen said. Israel has been bombarding targets in Gaza since shortly after the fighting started Oct. 7, including in residential areas.

Israeli Troops Advancing Toward Heart of Gaza City, Gallant Says (8:15 p.m.)

Israeli troops are advancing from the north and south toward the heart of Gaza City, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a press briefing Tuesday. The soldiers are fighting within the built-up part of the city, he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated in a separate televised statement that there would be no ceasefire until the 240 hostages taken from Israel are freed.

UN Says 180 Women in Gaza Give Birth Daily Amid Limited Supplies (8:06 p.m.)

Only two truckloads carrying maternity supplies have entered Gaza so far, according to Natalia Kanem, executive director for the UN Population Fund. The UN estimates some 50,000 pregnant women live in the region. Over 5,500 children have been born since the war started as about 180 women give birth there every day, she said.

Allowing fuel and clean water into Gaza is needed to provide safe childbirth conditions, Kanem said Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York City.

US Says It Assisted 400 People Leaving Gaza (6:56 p.m.)

The US has assisted “more than 400 US citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other eligible individuals to depart Gaza,” said Vedant Patel, US State Department spokesman, without providing further details.

Global Affairs Canada said the first group of approximately 20 to 25 Canadians crossed the Rafah border into Egypt, and that it expects up to 80 citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members will leave Gaza Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Rafah border crossing reopened Monday, when some foreign nationals and dual citizens as well as “a handful of injured people” were allowed to enter Egypt from Gaza.

Israel Sells Record $1 Billion in Retail-Like Bonds Since War Began (5:18 p.m.)

Israel Bonds, which is registered in the US and separate but affiliated to the Ministry of Finance, has sold more than $1 billion of retail-like bonds since Oct. 7. That’s a record for a monthly period and has almost doubled the organization’s issuance for the year so far.

There has been the “highest surge of investment ever,” Dani Naveh, chief executive officer of Israel Bonds, told Bloomberg.

Israeli Army Identifies Launches From Lebanon (4:57 pm.)

The Israeli army said it identified 20 launches from Lebanon toward Israel and that it is shelling their origin. It didn’t give further details in a brief text.

Earlier in the day, the army had fired at a group in Lebanon trying to launch missiles and said it attacked a Hezbollah position.

US Diplomat in Beirut Urges Calm on Israel, Lebanon Border (3:40 pm)

Amos Hochstein said preventing hostilities on the frontier “should be the highest priority for both Lebanon and Israel” and said the US “does not want to see conflict in Gaza escalating and expanding into Lebanon.”

His remarks came after he met in Beirut with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, Iran-backed Hezbollah’s top ally in the country. Hezbollah, a militant group in Lebanon, has been engaged in cross-border attacks with Israel since the conflict began.

Hochstein, special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, is credited for successfully mediating a historical deal that demarcated disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel last year.

Israel Army Says Closing in On Gaza City With Focus on Tunnels (2:15 p.m.)

Israeli Defense Forces are trying to take out Hamas tunnels as troops close in on Gaza City, spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in a briefing with journalists.

While it appears that aerial strikes ‘’to some extent are affecting their capability to fight back,” underground passages remain a threat, Hecht said. “We know they are acting from within tunnels and popping up from within tunnels.”

The army began closing in on Gaza City on Monday. Also on Monday, troops located a number of tunnels inside a residence in a civilian neighborhood and destroyed them, the army said in a text message.

Israel Reserves Fall by $7.3 Billion in October (1:38 p.m.)

Israel’s foreign reserves fell by more than $7 billion in October, to $191.2 billion, as the central bank sought to defend the shekel following the start of the war.

At the onset of the conflict, the Bank of Israel pledged to sell as much as $30 billion from its roughly $200 billion in foreign-currency reserves — and to provide as much as $15 billion more via swaps — to support the shekel.

Netanyahu Sparks Talk of Gaza Future (12:50 p.m.)

Netanyahu kicked off a debate about any future Gaza security regime with his comments to ABC.

“Israel for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu said, according to excerpts of an interview that aired late Monday. “When we don’t have that security responsibility what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.”

Asked about the prime minister’s statement, his foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk said: “There are a number of options being discussed for the day after Hamas.”

Shekel Recoups Most of Its Losses (11:33 a.m.)

Israel’s currency recouped the bulk of its losses since the war began, with central bank support helping to tame volatility and discourage bets against it.

The shekel is less than 1% away from erasing the depreciation seen since Oct. 7. It’s recovered about 5% of its value against the dollar since reaching an 11-year low late last month.

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

  • Bryan Bailey says:

    There is no doubt this is an extremely sad state of affairs, especially for ordinary citizens when man thinks of hatred and extermination, when both sides have the right to life. The Gaza / Israel affair is a world / UN / Arab problem. What needs to be looked at is History of that area where we know from the Old Testament in the Bible of the Jews going to the promised land which is where they are today. I am battling to ascertain where the Palestinian’s were at that time??????
    If that history is / was available, surely the world / UN / Arabs could find a solution to this problem, as if not, this death and destruction is here to stay. And for ordinary people who suffer due to mans stupidity.

  • Elizabeth Lamb says:

    Timeline of Different hegem0nies in Palestine (not from the “Old Testament”) !!! :
    Kingdom of Israel, Kingdom of Judah…. 930-587/6 BCE
    Babylonian Empire …… …………………….. 587-539
    Persian Empire ………………………………… 539-332
    Hellenistic Empires ………………………….. 332-142
    Hasmonean Dynasty …………………………. 142-63
    Roman Empire ………………………………68BCE -330CE
    Byzantine ………………………………………330-636
    Early Muslim Caliphates …………………636-661
    Umayyads …………………………………….. 661-750
    Abbasids ………………………………………. 750-972
    Fatimids ………………………………………. 972-1071
    Seljuq-Turkish Empire …………………..1071-1098
    Crusaders ……………………………………..1099-1291
    Ayyubids ………………………………………1187-1260
    Mamluks ………………………………………1247-1517
    Ottoman Empire ……………………………1517-1917
    Britain…………………………………………..1920 -1948
    State of Israel ………………………………..1948- current
    Ref: p12 from 21 Voices from Israel and South Africa,
    Why the Palestinian struggle Matters
    by Marthie Momberg 1st edition 2023 published by Naledi Momberg
    Well researched and a worthwhile read!

  • Jaunine Conradie says:

    What I am wondering is why the State of Palestine do not address the Hamas element themselves. Hamas is bad for both the State of Palestine and Israel. If the Palestinian State battled Hamas, then it could have been handled internally, avoiding any escalation to neighbouring countries.

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

MavericKids vol 3

How can a child learn to read if they don't have a book?

81% of South African children aged 10 can't read for meaning. You can help by pre-ordering a copy of MavericKids.

For every copy sold we will donate a copy to Gift of The Givers for children in need of reading support.

A South African Hero: You

There’s a 99.8% chance that this isn’t for you. Only 0.2% of our readers have responded to this call for action.

Those 0.2% of our readers are our hidden heroes, who are fuelling our work and impacting the lives of every South African in doing so. They’re the people who contribute to keep Daily Maverick free for all, including you.

The equation is quite simple: the more members we have, the more reporting and investigations we can do, and the greater the impact on the country.

Be part of that 0.2%. Be a Maverick. Be a Maverick Insider.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options