The Middle East crisis The Gaza war

Hamas source: Identity of new leader remains secret

Hamas is likely to keep secret who will succeed Yahya Sinwar as the terror group's top leader. That's what a Hamas source told the BBC.

When Hamas' then-supreme leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in 2003, it was kept secret for a period who succeeded him, so the tactic is not new.

A new leader is expected to be chosen in March next year and until then the group will be led by a committee consisting of the five members Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Meshaal, Zaher Jabarin, Muhammad Darwish and a person who remains anonymous. The source says that it is Khalil al-Hayya who has assumed most of the responsibility and that in practice he acts as the acting leader of the group.

 

.................................

Israeli soldiers who returned from Gaza: "Hard to accept what we saw"

 
Israeli soldiers who returned from serving in Gaza describe to CNN how during the war they witnessed atrocities that the outside world cannot even imagine.

40-year-old father-of-four Eliran Mizrahi was sent to Gaza on October 8 last year and spent 186 days in the war before being sent back due to an injured knee. He was later diagnosed with PTSD as well. Shortly before going back to the war, he killed himself.

Relatives describe how Mizhari suffered from anger, sweating, sleep problems and withdrawal.

- He always said that "no one understands what I saw", says his sister Shir.

Friend Guy Zaken, who was with him in Gaza, tells CNN that they "saw very, very, very difficult things."

- Things that are difficult to accept.

At the same time, an IDF doctor testifies that many are very afraid of having to serve again, this time in Lebanon, and that "many of us do not trust the government right now".

 

.....................................

WHO to evacuate 1,000 women and children from Gaza

The World Health Organization, WHO, is to evacuate upwards of 1,000 women and children in need of care from Gaza, the organization says according to AFP.

- Israel has committed to an additional 1,000 medical evacuations within the next few months to the European Union, says WHO European Director Hans Kluge.

On Thursday last week, UN investigators announced that Israel deliberately targeted medical facilities in Gaza, killing and torturing medical staff there. The UN also accused Israel of "crimes against humanity".

So far, 600 people in need of care have been evacuated from Gaza since the war began last October.