The Israel Defense Forces are deploying additional troops near the Gaza Strip on the eve of the first anniversary of the attack by the Palestinian group „Hamas“, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.
„The Israeli army's division in Gaza has been reinforced with several units. The forces are deployed to protect both the settlements and the border area“, the army said in a statement.
According to the same source, three divisions are operating in the Gaza Strip to „destroy terrorist infrastructure and disable „Hamas“. "The Southern Command remains on high alert and prepared for the coming days," Major General Yaron Finkelman said.
Earlier today, the army announced the encirclement of the Jabaliya area, in the center of the Gaza Strip, where "Hamas" is trying to "restore its operational capacity." According to the "Hamas" Health Ministry, 26 people were killed in the shelling of a mosque and a school housing displaced people. The Israel Defense Forces said the mosque and school were command centers for the armed group, DPA reported. The agency notes that neither Hamas's claims nor Israel's can be independently verified.
Israel marks tomorrow the anniversary of the unprecedented attack on its territory by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, which claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people. It sparked the war in the Gaza Strip, which then spread to neighboring Lebanon against the Hamas-allied Hezbollah group.
Twenty-three people were killed in yesterday's Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced. The number of injured during the day is 93. Strikes were carried out in the south of the country, in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in other areas.
Lebanese Education Minister Abbas al-Halabi announced today that the start of the school year is being postponed to November 4, instead of October. He told a news conference that the measure would affect 1.25 million children from kindergarten to high school.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the world today to "put pressure on Israel" so that the Jewish state can "commit to a ceasefire" after Israel launched massive strikes overnight on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of "Hezbollah."
In his statement, Mikati also welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron, who "again supported Lebanon," mentioning the upcoming international summit and reaffirmed "his support for the French and US call" for a ceasefire.
Israel launched an airstrike on a car factory in the industrial zone of the city of Homs in central Syria on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. There were no people at the site at the time of the strike. Days ago, Israel blew up the main road connecting Syria with Lebanon to cut off Hezbollah's supply lines.