[News] Israel resumes carpet bombing Gaza after week-long pause

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Israel resumes carpet bombing Gaza after week-long pause

Israeli planes have been dropping leaflets in the southern city of Khan
Younis, warning civilians to evacuate toward the Egyptian border

https://new.thecradle.co/articles/israel-resumes-carpet-bombing-gaza-after-week-long-pause
<https://new.thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

DEC 1, 2023
(Photo Credit: John Macdougall/AFP)

At least 21 people have been killed since the Israeli army restarted its
war on Gaza during the early hour of 1 December, after a one-week pause
<https://new.thecradle.co/articles/gaza-israel-truce-extended-in-last-minute-deal>
that saw the release of dozens of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners.

According to local reports, the Al-Qassam Brigades – the armed wing of
Hamas – also resumed hostilities against the invading army in northern
Gaza. Furthermore, rocket attacks against Israel's southern settlements
have been reported, with sirens going off in the city of Ashkelon.

As the fighting restarted in the besieged enclave, the Israeli prime
minister's office issued a statement claiming Hamas “violated the
framework, did not meet its obligation to release all hostage women, and
fired rockets at Israel.”

“Amid the return to combat, we stress the government of Israel is committed
to achieving the goals of the war — releasing our hostages, eliminating
Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza can never again threaten the people of
Israel,” the statement adds.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir
<https://new.thecradle.co/articles/stopping-gaza-war-government-dissolution-ben-gvir>took
to social media on Friday morning to say Hamas should be destroyed “without
compromises, without deals,” adding that the renewed bombardment of the
world's largest open-air prison must be conducted at “maximum power.”

For its part, Gaza's Ministry of Information released a statement that
places the blame on the US and its allies for the restart of the war.

"The international community, led by the United States of America,
represented by the US President and his Secretary of State, bears
responsibility for the crimes of the Israeli occupation and the
continuation of the brutal war against civilians, children, and women in
the Gaza Strip," the statement by the Hamas-run office reads.

Palestinians sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis say Israeli
planes have again dropped leaflets warning civilians to evacuate southwards
towards Rafah – a city bordering Egypt that was targeted by Israeli air
raids earlier this morning.

“There is no shelter, no safe space for people in Gaza. Many of them have
lost their houses. Hospitals, UN facilities are packed with those who have
already evacuated from other areas,” journalist Hind Khoudary told
*Al-Jazeera*.

Members of the Israeli war cabinet are in favor of expanding
<https://new.thecradle.co/articles/Members of the Israeli war cabinet are
in favor of expanding the current ground invasion into the southern Gaza
Strip, a senior security official told Hebrew news outlet Walla on 17
November.> the ground invasion into the southern Gaza Strip, a senior
security official told
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/17/israel-hamas-war-live-thousands-in-danger-of-death-amid-hospital-siege>
Hebrew news outlet* Walla* on 17 November.

As Israeli jets once more took flight over Gaza, targeting residential
neighborhoods and vital infrastructure, the *Washington Post* reported that
US State Secretary Anthony Blinken
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/30/blinken-pledges-support-for-israel-as-gaza-truce-extend-for-third-time>
“sped out of his hotel in Israel on its way to the Tel Aviv airport.”

"Asked onboard his plane, Blinken declined to comment about the end of the
pause," the report adds.

On Thursday, Blinken made his fourth trip to Tel Aviv since 7 October
<https://new.thecradle.co/articles/was-october-7th-a-hamas-or-israeli-massacre>
to meet with Israeli authorities. He reportedly warned them that the longer
Israel's ethnic cleansing
<https://new.thecradle.co/articles/white-house-seeks-funding-for-israeli-plan-to-ethnically-cleanse-gaza>
campaign of Gaza goes on, the more international pressure will build on
both the US and Israel to stop it.

In an attempt to counter this pressure, the Israeli army has published a
map splitting the Gaza Strip into hundreds of small zones, claiming it will
use this to “notify” Palestinians about “active combat zones.”

Despite the restart of hostilities, CNN and BBC reported on Friday morning
that efforts are ongoing to return to the truce in Gaza. The Qatari office
of AFP also cited an unidentified source who said the same.
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