JERUSALEM - Israel's forces fought Hamas militants on Dec 23 in northern Gaza where it is seeking full control, a day after the United Nations Security Council called for more aid for the Palestinian enclave but stopped short of demanding a ceasefire.
Thick smoke hung over the northern town of Jabalia, which is home to Gaza's largest refugee camp, and residents reported persistent aerial bombardment and shelling from Israeli tanks, which they said had moved farther into the town.
Hamas' armed wing, AI Qassam Brigades, said it was engaged in combat with Israeli forces in the area. It said it had destroyed five Israeli tanks, killing and injuring their crews, after reusing two undetonated missiles launched earlier by Israel.
Nearly 20,000 Gazans have been killed during the 11-week conflict, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, with thousands more bodies believed trapped under rubble. Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced.
Israel said 140 of its soldiers have been killed since it launched its ground incursion on Oct 20, in response to an Oct 7 rampage into Israel by Gaza's ruling Hamas militants, who killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said on Dec 23 that they had fired decoy shots in the area of Issa in Gaza City, luring dozens of militants from a building that served as a Hamas headquarters in the north of the enclave.
This story is from the December 24, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the December 24, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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