Fighting rages as some Gazans voice hope at renewed ceasefire calls
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Israeli forces and Hamas militants clashed anew in central Gaza, and in Khan Younis and Rafah, in the south on Sept 26.
PHOTO: REUTERS
CAIRO – Israeli forces battled Hamas-led militants in the northern and southern Gaza Strip on Sept 26, leaving at least 17 Palestinians dead overnight.
Medics said the deaths resulted from separate Israeli air strikes in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, and in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said its fighters attacked Israeli forces in central Gaza and Khan Younis with mortar bombs.
Residents said Israeli forces operating in Rafah and Zeitoun, a suburb of Gaza City, blew up several homes there.
Gaza’s health authorities listed more than 41,400 Palestinians confirmed killed in the war, which Israel launched after Hamas attacked Israeli towns on Oct 7, killing at least 1,200 people and capturing around 250 hostages.
The war in Gaza has not let up, even as Israel’s war on Hezbollah in Lebanon has escalated.
Many months of diplomatic efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire have yielded little progress, with Israel refusing any deal to halt the fighting without the total defeat of Hamas.
In recent days, the conflict has spread to another major theatre, with Israel launching the biggest air strikes on Lebanon in nearly two decades, targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has been firing into Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Sept 25, the United States, its allies in Europe and several Arab nations called for a 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border while also expressing support for a Gaza ceasefire following intense discussions at the United Nations.
Peace hopes
In Gaza, many Palestinians voiced hope that a deal to end the war in Lebanon would also bring an end to the fighting in the Palestinian enclave.
“Since Oct 8, Hassan Nasrallah conditioned ending the strikes by Hezbollah on ending the Israeli crimes and war on Gaza. This is a big gate of hope that peace may prevail in Lebanon and Gaza,” said Mr Tamer Al-Burai, a Palestinian businessman from Gaza City, who is currently displaced in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, and we don’t wish that anyone be harmed as Gaza was,” Mr Burai told Reuters via a chat app.
Mr Nasrallah is the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Some expressed concern that a deal in Lebanon alone could free Israel’s hands further in Gaza, but Mr Abed Abu Mustafa, a resident of Gaza City, said he expected Mr Nasrallah to continue supporting the Palestinian enclave.
“We are confident that Nasrallah wouldn’t agree to a deal that doesn’t include Gaza. He spoke several times about the unity of the axes of resistance,” Mr Mustafa, 48, said.
The “Axis of Resistance” refers to groups including Hezbollah that are backed by Iran and have been waging attacks on Israel since war erupted between their ally Hamas and Israel on Oct 7. REUTERS