Israel warns of war in Lebanon: "Time is running out"
The escalating attacks between the Israeli military and Hezbollah increase the fear that the war will have a new front in Lebanon, write the New York Times and the Washington Post. On Tuesday, three people were said to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, and at the latest yesterday, Wednesday, the Iran-backed terrorist group fired at targets in northern Israel.
Several Israeli ministers now believe that Hezbollah is facing a crossroads - either they back off from the border, or Israel's military, the IDF, will force the terrorist group to do so.
- The time for a diplomatic solution is running out. If the world and Lebanon's government do not act to stop the fire [...] the IDF will, opposition leader Benny Gantz said Wednesday, according to the NYT.
According to Israel's Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, IDF forces in the north are prepared to strike in Lebanon "if necessary".
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Thousands flee the fighting again – seeking shelter in tents
Israel's offensive in central and southern Gaza is forcing tens of thousands of people, who have already fled several times, to flee again on Thursday, writes Reuters.
Many of them are heading to the already overcrowded city of Dayr al-Balah, where people are crammed into camps built from makeshift tents. Yamen Hamad has sought refuge in a school in the city since fleeing the fighting in the north. He says that the refugees who are now arriving from Bureij and Nusseirat are setting up tents wherever there is space.
One of them is 60-year-old Omar and his family.
- The moment is here now. I wished it would never happen, but it seems that it was a must to escape, he told the news agency.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, over 21,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. During the night and morning fighting alone, 50 people are said to have been killed, according to the authority.
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The Israel-Hamas war|The attacks
Injured soldiers a "hidden cost" for Israel in the war
Almost 900 Israeli soldiers have been injured in Gaza since Israel began the ground invasion in mid-October, AP writes. Experts that the news agency spoke to warn that the "hidden cost" of the war may affect Israel economically and socially for many years to come.
Edan Kleiman, who represents an organization for Israeli war veterans, says he has never seen soldiers injured at the rate in Gaza. Kleiman stresses the need for rapid physical and psychological rehabilitation for them to have a chance to return to their lives, while questioning whether the Israeli authorities understand the seriousness.
His image is shared by Idit Shafran Gittleman, a researcher in national security studies in Tel Aviv.
- There are injured people whose lives have been destroyed. They will have to struggle with their wounds for the rest of their lives, she says.
More than 21,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began and nearly 55,000 more have been injured, according to the Hamas-run health authority.
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