 "Israel-Hamas war: Top ten updates on Israel's offensive against Hamas")
The conflict between Israel and Hamas that started on October 7, 2023 has now lasted for over two months. While the attack took Israel by surprise, the retaliation by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is now overwhelming for Gazans. Here are the top ten updates on the Israel-Hamas war:
1) According to reports by Israeli media, at least seven Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in Gaza City as the army continued to meet heavy resistance in an offensive against Hamas
2) Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that its forces--on land, sea and air--struck more than 250 Hamas-related targets inside Gaza in the past 24 hours.
3) The IDF said that it has completed a series of attacks in Syrian and Lebanese territory in which both aircraft and tanks recently attacked several military infrastructures and a military position of the Syrian military within the territory of that country.
4) India was among the countries that voted in favour of the United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. One hundred fifty-three countries voted in favour of the resolution, whereas 10, including the US, Israel and Austria, voted against it, and 23, including Germany, Argentina and Ukraine, abstained from voting.
5) Earlier, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter and asked its members to demand an immediate ceasefire, using the rarely exercised power to warn the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) of an impending humanitarian crisis. This is the first time that this provision has been invoked in Guterres' tenure.
6) Even as President Joe Biden's administration has blocked international calls for a cease-fire and rushed military aid to its close ally, it has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to take greater measures to spare Palestinian civilians.
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7) According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, Israel is reportedly considering a plan to flood Hamas's network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip by pumping water from the Mediterranean Sea.
8) Israeli tanks entered the centre of Khan Younis on December 10 in a major push into the heart of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip which is sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians who fled other parts of the enclave.
9) Over 18,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed because of the air and ground offensive since the October 7 attack by Hamas that triggered the war.
10) Since October 7, Israel has been involved in fierce combat in Gaza, after Hamas militants raided southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostages.