Israel presses operation in Gaza's north
The Hindu
Israeli air strikes pounded parts of Gaza’s biggest city on July 11, Hamas said, after Israel’s military declared an end to its operation in an eastern district that saw Gaza City’s heaviest combat in months.
Israeli air strikes pounded parts of Gaza's biggest city on July 11, Hamas said, after Israel's military declared an end to its operation in an eastern district that saw Gaza City's heaviest combat in months.
The upsurge in fighting, bombardment and displacement followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement in late June that "the war in its intense phase is about to end".
It also came as talks were held in the Gulf emirate of Qatar towards a truce and hostage release deal after more than nine months of war.
Gaza's ruling Hamas Islamists said troops had pulled back from Gaza City's eastern district of Shujaiya leaving behind "more than 300 residential units and more than 100 businesses destroyed."
Witnesses on July 11 said tanks and troops had moved into other Gaza City areas, and clashes between Israeli forces and militants were occurring. Explosions, artillery shelling and gunfire could be heard, they said.
Smoke rose over parts of the city, according to AFP correspondents.
Hamas on July 11 reported 45 air strikes in the Gaza City area, as well as in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, where Mr. Netanyahu had said the intense phase of the war was nearing its conclusion.