Israeli army launches new military operation in central Gaza

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army on Thursday announced the launch of a new "targeted" military operation in central Gaza.

In a statement, the army said that before the Israeli soldiers started the incursion, Israeli warplanes and artillery struck the outskirts of the Nuseirat refugee camp, claiming that the targets were the military infrastructure of the Palestinian group Hamas, including rocket launchers.

It added that the military campaign was being carried out by the army's 162nd Division, the Nahal infantry brigade, and other units, in addition to naval fire support.

Commenting on the operation, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Israeli army must intensify military operations in Nuseirat and other parts of the Deir al-Balah area in the central Gaza Strip, as well as in the southern city of Rafah.

Several countries, including the US, have urged Israel to abandon plans for a military offensive against Rafah, which is home to nearly 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

Around 33,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

It has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has urged it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara