Israel expands ground operation in Gaza and bombs Hamas tunnels after knocking out communications
Jerusalem(AP): Israel on Saturday expanded its ground operation in Gaza with infantry and armoured vehicles backed by massive strikes from the air and sea, including the bombing of Hamas tunnels a key target in its campaign to crush the territory's ruling group after its bloody incursion in Israel three weeks ago.
The bombardment, described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war, also knocked out most communications in Gaza.
This largely cut off the besieged enclave's 2.3 million people from the world, while enabling the Israeli military to control the narrative in a new stage of fighting.
The military released grainy images Saturday showing tank columns moving slowly in open areas of Gaza, many apparently near the border, and said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers.
"The forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war," said the army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, indicating that the next stage has begun in what is expected to evolve into an all-out ground offensive in northern Gaza.
Early in the war, Israel had already amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border.
Until now, troops had conducted brief nightly ground incursions before returning to Israel.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza on Saturday rose to just over 7,700 people since October 7, with 377 deaths reported since late Friday, according to the territory's Health Ministry.
A majority of those killed have been women and minors, the ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told reporters that the disruption of communications has "totally paralysed" the health network.
Residents had no way of calling ambulances, and emergency teams were chasing the sounds of artillery barrages and airstrikes to search for people in need.
Some civilians were using their bare hands to pull injured people from the rubble and loading them into personal cars or donkey carts to rush them to the hospital.
In a video posted by local media, Palestinians were sprinting down a ravaged street with a wounded man covered in the dust of a building's collapse while he winced, eyes clenched shut, on a stretcher.
"Ambulance! Ambulance!" the men shouted as they shoved the stretcher into the back of a pick-up truck and shouted at the driver, "Go! Go!"
Other residents traveled by foot or car to check on their relatives and friends. "The bombs were everywhere, the building was shaking," said Hind al-Khudary, a journalist in central Gaza and one of a few people with cell phone service. "We can't reach anyone or contact anyone. I do not know where my family is."
Israel says its strikes target Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the militants operate from among civilians, putting them in danger.
Across Gaza, terrified civilians were huddling in homes and shelters with food and water supplies running out.
Electricity was knocked out by Israel in the early stages of the war.
More than 1.4 million people have fled their homes, nearly half crowding into UN schools and shelters.
Aid workers say the trickle of aid Israel has allowed to enter from Egypt the past week is a tiny fraction of what is needed.
Gaza hospitals have been scrounging for fuel to run emergency generators that power incubators and other life-saving equipment.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which runs an extensive network of shelters and schools for nearly half the displaced Gaza residents, has lost contact with most of its staff, spokeswoman Juliette Touma said Saturday.
She said that coordinating aid efforts was now "extremely challenging."
The intensified air and ground campaign also raised new concerns about dozens of hostages dragged into Gaza on October 7. On Saturday, hundreds of relatives of hostages gathered in a square in downtown Tel Aviv, demanding to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallat.
Some in the group demanded that Israel push for the release of all hostages before proceeding with the campaign against Hamas.
Protesters wore shirts emblazoned with the faces of their missing relatives under the word "kidnapped" and the words "Bring them back."
The families "feel like they're they're left behind and no one is really caring about them," said Miki Haimovitz, a former lawmaker and spokeswoman for the group. "No one is talking to them. No one is explaining what's going on."
Gallant later said he would meet with the families Sunday.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said his government was working to de-escalate the conflict through its talks with the warring parties to release prisoners and hostages. He didn't provide further details.
Hagari, the army spokesman, said the confirmed number of hostages was 229, after four were released in recent days through mediation by Qatar and Egypt.
He dismissed media reports about a possible cease-fire deal in exchange for the release of hostages, saying Hamas was engaged in a "cynical exploitation" of the anxieties of relatives of hostages.
More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, according to the Israeli government. Among those killed were at least 311 soldiers, according to the military.
Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past three weeks.
The overall number of deaths in Gaza and Israel far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous Israel-Hamas wars, estimated at around 4,000.
Gallant said Friday that Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza soon.
It "will take a long time" to dismantle Hamas' vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expects a lengthy phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys "pockets of resistance."
His comments pointed to a potentially gruelling and open-ended new phase of the war after three weeks of relentless bombardment.
Israel has said it aims to crush Hamas' rule in Gaza and its ability to threaten Israel. But how Hamas' defeat will be measured and an invasion's endgame remain unclear.
Israel says it does not intend to rule the tiny territory but not who it expects to govern even as Gallant suggested a long-term insurgency could ensue.
In Washington, the Pentagon said US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Gallant on Friday and "underscored the importance of protecting civilians during the Israel Defence Forces' operations and focusing on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza."
The Pentagon said Austin also brought up "the need for Hamas to release all of the hostages."
The conflict has threatened to ignite a wider war across the region. Arab nations including US allies and ones that have reached peace deals or normalised ties with Israel have raised increasing alarm over a potential ground invasion, likely to bring even higher casualties amid urban fighting. (AP)
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
