Israeli Strikes And Tank Shelling Kill Four Palestinians In Gaza During Ceasefire

Israeli strikes and tank shelling across Gaza on Sunday killed four Palestinians, including a 13-year-old girl, even as a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire reached in October remained in place.

“In the backdrop of the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and the subsequent highly complex military, security, and political shifts, a rising conviction grows within Israeli security circles that the future of the enclave is no longer measured by the possibility of overcoming Hamas, but by the extent to which it is recognized as part of the equation that cannot be dismissed from practical calculations”

Al-Jazeera Net

The first strike hit a group of people in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, killing two people and wounding another, while in southern Gaza another Israeli strike killed a man, health officials at Nasser hospital said.

Al-Jazeera Net

Nasser hospital also said 13-year-old Eileen al-Farra was killed by shrapnel from Israeli tank shelling in southern Gaza, as Palestinians reported heavy tank shelling and quadcopters buzzing overhead.

The Israeli military said one of the strikes targeted a "Hamas terrorist," and Israel said it targets Hamas and other militants who pose a threat and acts in response to ceasefire violations.

The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, said Israel has killed more than 1,040 people in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, while Israel has said five of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

Israeli reporting cited IDF intelligence and Southern Command officers warning Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir that Hamas is rebuilding its capabilities and preparing for another round of fighting.

The report said the officers warned that Hamas is manufacturing hundreds of explosive devices and anti-tank missiles each month, recruiting operatives between the ages of 18 and 22, and resuming training members of its Nukhba force.

All Israel News

It also said the officers told the Chief of Staff that Hamas remains firmly in control on the ground, faces no internal challenge to its rule, and has no intention of relinquishing its control of Gaza.

In parallel, the Israeli site Walla, as described by اليـوم السابع, reported pessimism within the Israeli security establishment about Nikolai Mladenov's mission to disarm Hamas, quoting a senior Israeli military official saying Israel is facing "two paths, with no third option".

The same report described a possible "defective" or "punctured" agreement that Washington tries to impose, alongside an option of a U.S. declaration that negotiations have reached an impasse and would mean a return to military escalation.

Israeli security circles described a rising conviction that the future of the Gaza Strip is no longer tied to ending Hamas's existence, but to recognizing it as a factor in the military and political equation.

“On Sunday, the Israeli Hebrew site Walla published new details about the intelligence operation that Israel says led to the assassination of Az al-Din al-Haddad, one of Hamas' Qassam Brigades' top leaders, earlier this month, amid Israeli assessments that describe the operation as a 'strategic strike' against Hamas”

Euronews

The Al-Jazeera Net account of Walla said the absence of any broad Palestinian popular movement against Hamas, even amid humanitarian and living conditions, is treated as an indicator of stability, and it cited the claim that calls posted on social media to organize protests did not translate into a notable street response.

That same account said Israeli estimates attribute the lack of protests not only to security conditions but to "Hamas's ability to impose field control" through deployment of armed elements in streets and intersections.

Military analyst Ron Ben-Yishai, writing in Yediot Ahronot, argued that Hamas is not merely an externally imposed armed faction, and he criticized the Israeli government's promotion of the notion of "full victory."

In the same reporting stream, Israeli officials warned Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir that Hamas is rebuilding its military capabilities, and it said the army recommends resuming wide-scale military operations despite American reservations about worsening the humanitarian crisis and broadening the scope of the conflict.