IOF extensively bulldoze in central Gaza to create 'buffer zone'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
12 Jan 2024 13:51

Our correspondent reports that the IOF are trying to move on to stage 3; to employ less infantry and airstrikes and rely more on targeted raids and military operations.

Israeli excavator, bulldozers, and cranes demolish the remains of "Karni" commercial border crossing separating Gaza from mainland occupied Palestine, east of Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 (AP)

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation forces targeted al-Maghazi and al-Bureij camps with intense shelling. The Israeli military vehicles also opened fire at the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Israeli airstrikes also targeted the Sabra neighborhood in central Gaza City, bombing a residential unit housing a family and killing 11 people.

The area surrounding street 10 south of Gaza City, especially from the northern side, witnessed intensive artillery shelling after two IOF military vehicles were targeted with anti-tank shells.

This comes as extensive bulldozing operations continue in the vicinity of Road No. 10, especially on its northern side, seemingly in an attempt to establish a "buffer zone" in the middle of the Gaza Strip.

According to our correspondent, Khan Younis is still witnessing ground operations, with a decline in their intensity, accompanied by continuous heavy artillery shelling in its southern and western parts.

Areas in southern Khan Younis witnessed intense confrontations coinciding with artillery shelling.

Our correspondent pointed out that the occupation is trying to quickly end its ground operations in the southern region of Gaza and move on to the third stage (employing fewer troops and airstrikes but more targeted raids and special military operations), which practically began in the north, Rafah, and Deir al-Balah over a week ago.

Our correspondent also noted that aerial bombardment persists in most areas of Gaza but at a relatively low frequency.

'Israel', US already lost the war in Gaza: The Hill

In an opinion piece published in The Hill news website under the title "Genocide or not, Israel has lost the moral high ground," Avraham Shama suggested that "Israel will likely be found guilty of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza by the International Court of Justice."

"If so, the court could call for an immediate cease-fire and consider compensation for Gazans," Shama said, pointing out that "even if the court would not find guilt, Israel had already lost the war in Gaza, as did the United States."

The writer highlighted that in its war on Gaza, the Israeli occupation has so far killed around 24,000 people, wounded more than 59,000, and destroyed more than 70% of homes and buildings in the Strip.

He added that "Israel" emphasized that the war would continue for at least one more year and promoted the idea of forcibly displacing Gazans elsewhere.

Shama indicated that "these are robust indicators of genocide," arguing that "even if Israel is acquitted, it has already lost the war from day one."

The writer claims that "the world’s public opinion was supportive of Israel’s right to retaliate" to the Palestinian Resistance's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7.

"But as the war progressed over the past three months, Israel had widened its scope and intensity," he noted, leading to the Israeli occupation's mounting political losses, including allies such as Britain, France, and Germany being increasingly critical of "Israel’s" actions during the war.

Shama recalled that US President Joe Biden's administration has been the only backer of the Israeli occupation, making it clear that without Washington's vetoes at the UN Security Council, "Tel Aviv" would have been ordered to immediately stop the war on Gaza.

The writer said that "Israel has proven to be vulnerable" and that Hamas has kept the war against assumingly "one of the most capable armies in the world" going for the past three months.

He suggested that such weakness by "Israel" has also been motivating action by Hezbollah, Iran, and the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, adding that the Israeli occupation's partners such as the US "could conclude that Israel is not the ironclad ally it had been thought to be."