GAZA CITY – Israel has issued a warning that it will intensify its strikes in Gaza if Hamas continues its rocket fire, as Palestinian rescuers reported dozens of deaths from Israeli strikes on the first day of the New Year.
Over the past week, Palestinian militants have repeatedly fired rockets at Israel, particularly from northern Gaza, where the Israeli military is conducting a major offensive. Although the rockets have caused little damage, they have been a political blow for the Israeli government after nearly 15 months of fighting.
Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas to release Israeli hostages and cease firing at Israeli communities, or face unprecedented intensity in Israeli strikes. This warning followed a visit to the Israeli town of Netivot, recently targeted by rocket fire from Gaza.
Militants are still holding 96 hostages seized during their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Successive rounds of negotiations for their release and a ceasefire have all failed.
Israeli strikes continued across Gaza on January 1. Gaza’s civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal reported that 15 people were killed and more than 20 injured in a strike on a house in Jabalia where displaced people were living. The Israeli military stated it had “eliminated” several Hamas militants operating within a terrorist structure in Jabalia.
Since October 6, the military has been conducting a major land and air offensive in northern Gaza, particularly targeting Jabalia and its adjacent refugee camp. The military claims the operation aims to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping in the area.
UN human rights experts have suggested that the siege appears to be part of an effort to permanently displace the local population as a precursor to Gaza’s annexation. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once since the war began.
The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centres, an allegation Hamas denies. A report by the UN Human Rights Office stated that insufficient information has been made available to substantiate Israeli accusations of military use of hospitals.
Two further Israeli strikes in Gaza on January 1 killed another 10 people, adding to the misery of displaced Gazans already struggling to keep warm amid wintry conditions.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year, resulting in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,553 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
