Israel is not loosening its grip on Rafah and is also intensifying military operations in central Gaza, announcing significant new evacuations. While negotiations for a truce and the release of other hostages are at a standstill, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is implementing his strategy: that of negotiating for a ceasefire but, at the same time, not giving Hamas any respite or breathing space. Heavy shelling continued throughout the night in the Zeitoun area of central Gaza, where Israeli troops also found “large quantities of weapons and military equipment hidden inside a clinic.” Tel Aviv aircraft struck dozens of terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip, including military facilities, launch sites, observation posts, terrorist operatives and additional terrorist infrastructure. And, according to local hospital sources, at least 47 people, including children, were killed in the attacks.
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Furthermore, in the Rafah area, IDF troops also discovered numerous underground tunnels in the area adjacent to the crossing. The latest death bulletin issued by the Hamas Ministry of Health officially reports a toll of almost 35 thousand deaths since the start of the war, of which 28 in the last 24 hours alone. Hamas, according to what the Israeli armed forces always report, would have hit the Kerem Shalom crossing with four rockets in the meantime. In the meantime, the great escape from Rafah continues and the IDF estimates that around 300,000 Palestinians have evacuated the city in southern Gaza, towards a designated “humanitarian zone” in the areas of al-Mawasi and Khan Younis.
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Meanwhile, today the terrorist movement released a new propaganda video showing an Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip. In the 10-second clip, according to Israeli media, the hostage identifies himself as Nadav Popplewell, 52 years old, he has a black eye but no other visible injuries. The man, who also has British nationality, was kidnapped on 7 October in the Hamas attack in which his brother was killed. Popplewell is diabetic and her sister, in an interview with the Daily Mail in November, said she was worried about her health during her imprisonment. Popplewell’s mother was released on November 24 following the temporary ceasefire and hostage release agreement. Little is known about him and the video does not actually contain dates and therefore does not guarantee whether the man is really still alive. So much so that Hamas made it known that he was killed by an Israeli raid. Thus placing the blame on the enemy.
