VOA —
Excerpts of body camera footage released by the Israel Defense Forces IDF claim fighting between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants in the town of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip. VOA could not independently verify the date and location of the battle claimed by the Israeli military.
This is the latest fighting in a conflict that began when Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7 and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, a territory controlled by Hamas, said that as of Sunday 31 December, a series of Israeli attacks had killed more than 21,600 Palestinians.
Although many countries have called for a humanitarian ceasefire so they can send aid to the Palestinian territories, American President Joe Biden has so far refused to pressure Israel to stop the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last weekend held a press conference where he said “the war is ongoing” and warned that it “will continue for several more months.” He also spoke about the threat Iran poses.
The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the Houthi group in Yemen, a group that America has declared a terrorist organization. Western allies say the Houthi attack has disrupted merchant ship traffic through the Red Sea. The White House says it is considering reclassifying the Houthis as a terror group.
Republican member of Congress, Mike Turner, speaking on ABC’s “This Week” program, said the White House must do more to curb Iran’s proxies.
“This administration has been very timid in responding to the escalation that Iran has caused. To be able to address this, they have to look at the operations being conducted in Yemen where those capabilities exist, where Iran continues to support them as they attack commercial shipping areas and pose risks to the American military.”
The US Central Command (CentCom) said the US Navy had destroyed several Houthi vessels attempting to board a container ship in the Red Sea. Meanwhile the Israeli military this week claimed to have intercepted what it called a “hostile air target” whose contents could not be independently verified by VOA.
As smoke rose over northern Gaza on Sunday, amidst Israel’s ongoing campaign in the enclave, it looked like there would be more bloodshed in the Palestinian territory, while Israel persisted in its goal of burning Hamas to the ground; and in the end more and more actors entered the battlefield. (em/hour)