Israeli military says its forces conducting operations on Gaza City outskirts
The announcement came a week after Israel's security cabinet approved the capture of the Palestinian territory's largest city following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions.
'Over the past few days, IDF troops have been operating in the Zeitoun area, on the outskirts of Gaza City,' said the statement released by the Israeli military.
'The troops are operating to locate explosives, eliminate terrorists, and dismantle terrorist infrastructure above and below ground.
As part of their activity, the troops struck and dismantled a booby-trapped structure that stored weapons.'
The military said that its troops had also been targeted by insurgents firing an anti-tank missile, but said that no personnel were injured during the incident.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military chief of staff said the blueprint for the new offensive had been approved.
In recent days, Gaza City residents have told AFP of an intensifying number of airstrikes hitting residential areas, while earlier this week Hamas lambasted 'aggressive' Israeli ground incursions in the area.
The Israeli government's plans to expand the war have triggered a wave of international condemnation as well as domestic protests.
Hamas's October 2023 attack which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,827 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
14 minutes ago
- Arab News
Microsoft launches probe after Israeli mass surveillance claims
LONDON: Microsoft has opened an external investigation into allegations that a top Israeli military intelligence unit used its cloud technology to carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians. The probe follows a joint report by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call. According to the report, Israel's Unit 8200 spy agency, the rough equivalent of the US National Security Agency, used Microsoft's Azure cloud service to store a vast archive of phone calls intercepted and recorded from Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The joint media report also revealed extensive ties between Microsoft's Israel office and the spy unit — a finding that prompted alarm among the tech giant's US executives who feared that Israel-based employees might have concealed information about the nature of their work with Unit 8200. Microsoft's Israel office, as part of its work with the unit, created a custom, segregated suite within the Azure platform in order to store the archive of intercepted phone calls. Unit 8200 chiefs aimed to use the surveillance project to record 'millions of calls per hour' across the Palestinian territories. In a statement, Microsoft said 'using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank' would be prohibited under its terms of service. The tech giant appointed lawyers from US firm Covington & Burling to oversee the inquiry. It is the second external probe initiated by Microsoft in relation to its ties with the Israeli military. The first, conducted earlier this year, found 'no evidence to date' that the Israel Defense Forces had broken Microsoft's terms of service or used the Azure cloud service 'to target or harm people' in Gaza. However, the latest investigation will expand on the previous one, with Microsoft agreeing 'that The Guardian's recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review.' Pressure is also mounting within Microsoft through an employee-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid. The group, which is accusing the tech giant of 'complicity in genocide and apartheid,' has called for Microsoft to cut all ties with the Israeli military. Sources within Microsoft told The Guardian that the company's leadership was scrambling to assess Azure data. They are reportedly concerned about information revealed by Unit 8200 sources for the joint media report, which alleged that the data was used to identify targets for strikes in Gaza. Microsoft pledged to 'share with the public the factual findings that result from' the external review, a statement said.
Arab News
44 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israel's chokehold on US is beginning to loosen
Has Israel's government finally gone too far? Ever since it was founded in 1948, Israel has engaged in violence against Palestinians and used its support in America as a shield to prevent it from being punished at the UN. To ensure that America's support never wavers, pro-Israel groups have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into manipulating the American political system, influencing election results and ensuring members of Congress shy away from questioning its misconduct. But ever since Israel's government launched its war of vengeance against the Palestinians in Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, its excessive violence, war crimes, genocide and even the murder of a handful of Americans have seemed to tilt the balance of support in the US. Recent polling shows that the American public has started to react to Israel's excesses, with 60 percent now opposing Tel Aviv's military action in Gaza. Israel's violence, pushed by the influence of far-right religious extremists who control the government of right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has pushed open a door of judgment that it might not be able to close. Even worse for Israel is that its excessive military response has sparked a seismic political tremor that has started to reverberate among some Republican conservatives and mainstream Democrats, who for generations could be counted on to close their eyes to Israel's extrajudicial killings, collective punishment and contempt for the international rule of law. We are starting to see the powerful chokehold that Israel has long had over American politics start to loosen. We have always seen the Democratic Party mildly slap Israel on the wrist for its violent excesses, but mainstream Democrats like Rep. Mike Quigley are now questioning Israel's military actions and even calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israel's excessive violence, war crimes and genocide have seemed to tilt the balance of support in the US Ray Hanania We have long heard those on the far left in the Democratic Party scream and stamp their feet with no impact on American society. They have excoriated Israel's government for its hypocritical discriminatory policies against Christians and Muslims. Meanwhile, the Republicans and evangelical Christian movements have always stood by Israel, giving it a shield against any form of criminal prosecution, even when its victims have been Americans. Conservatives may have winced at Israel's abuses, but they never crossed the line to demand accountability or judgment. Until now. The tipping point came because Americans have begun to experience a weakening economy. Not only has inflation pushed the price of commodities like groceries, cars and clothing to new heights, but the costs of essentials like insurance, healthcare and property taxes have also risen dramatically. Many Americans are now struggling financially. The US also has a record national debt of more than $37 trillion, which is driving inflation and pushing the cost of products to unaffordable new heights. That economic reality is trumping America's love affair with Israel, causing many Americans to ask: 'Why?' One of the strongest voices leading the backlash is a core member of President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Republican from Georgia has started to question why America sacrifices so much for Israel. Greene, a staunch, unapologetic champion of Trump, is the face of the new movement that is challenging Israel's dominion over America and directly challenging Israel's political powerbase in the US, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. This group has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on donations to the campaign coffers of hundreds of US politicians in order to ensure their subordination and subservience to Israel's needs and demands. Today's economic reality is trumping America's love affair with Israel, causing many Americans to ask: 'Why?' Ray Hanania Greene is demanding that America stop giving Israel foreign aid. The US sends $4 billion in aid to Israel every year and it has also provided $18 billion in military assistance for Tel Aviv's war on Gaza. She has the audacity to ask why. Why is America giving Israel so much money, which could instead be given to Americans who are suffering financially? She posted on X this week: 'AIPAC is trying to paint my America First message as 'antisemitic' because I don't want to keep sending billions to the secular government of nuclear-armed Israel.' Greene has expanded her call to end all foreign aid — a call to arms that is being embraced by other mainstream MAGA Republicans like Rep. Thomas Massie. What is happening is a political revolution being driven by a worsening economy and by Israeli arrogance. In her post this week, Green concluded: 'With $37 TRILLION in debt, I'm unapologetically America ONLY at this point. My loyalty is to the American people and my children's generation. The people I was elected to represent. NOT ANY FOREIGN COUNTRY.' The growing criticism of Israel's policies, combined with the financial pain many Americans are experiencing and the arrogance of foreign lobbyists who believe they can politically suffocate mainstream congressional antagonists, is undermining Israel's grip over the American people. The changes may look small, but with the criticisms gaining momentum, at some point they will become unstoppable. There is an American idiom often used in politics that says, 'give someone enough rope and they will hang themselves.' Israel is today tightening the noose around its own moral profligacy. • Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He can be reached on his personal website at X: @RayHanania
Arab News
44 minutes ago
- Arab News
All at sea: UK sends wrong signal on Gulf naval role
The British government recently announced that HMS Lancaster, a Royal Navy frigate permanently based in the Gulf, will return to the UK for scrapping by the end of the year. This will leave the UK without a permanent forward-based destroyer or frigate in the Gulf for the first time in many years. The decision comes at a bad time, given the fragile state of maritime security in the region. The removal of Britain's last warship from the Gulf, despite these realities, is reminiscent of US President Joe Biden's 2013 decision to withdraw all American tanks from Europe for the first time since the Second World War — only to see Russia invade Ukraine the following year. The Gulf region matters to the UK for many reasons. Britain's ties with the Gulf states stretch back decades, and in some cases centuries. The first recorded instance of the Royal Navy entering the Gulf occurred in 1620, when the East India Company sought to dislodge Portuguese influence from the region. Economically, the Gulf is one of the UK's most important trading regions outside Europe and North America, with billions in goods and services exchanged each year. British companies are heavily involved in the energy, finance, and defense sectors, while Gulf investment plays a major role in the UK economy, from infrastructure projects to property and technology ventures. Security cooperation has been just as important. Many Gulf countries have served alongside British forces in joint operations, whether in counter-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa, counter-terrorism missions in the wider Middle East, or maritime security cooperation in the Gulf itself. These shared missions have built strong operational ties and mutual trust between the UK and its Gulf partners, strengthening both regional stability and the global commons. Gulf investment plays a major role in the British economy Luke Coffey The UK military continues to play a significant role in training and, in some cases, equipping the armed forces of the region, fostering close professional bonds among senior officers. The Royal Navy, in particular, holds a special place, with the UK ranking second only to the US in terms of foreign naval influence in the Gulf. The UK has also reduced its mine countermeasures vessels in the region, a vital asset given Iran's repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. A Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship traditionally stationed in the Gulf has also been brought home, with no plans for its return. The Labour government's own 2025 Strategic Defense Review, a document it describes as a 'root-and-branch' analysis of Britain's national security and armed forces, runs to 144 pages, but devotes only about half a page to the Gulf. It does highlight, though concisely, the importance of the region, stating: 'The Middle East is significant to UK security and prosperity due to its position as an artery of global trade and its role in global energy supplies. The UK's footprint in the region and increased investment in strategic defense partnerships supports the government's economic growth agenda.' If Prime Minister Keir Starmer truly sees the Gulf as a geopolitical priority, his first year in government has done little to prove it. By contrast, when the Conservatives returned to power in 2010 after 13 years in opposition, David Cameron moved quickly to elevate relations with the region. He immediately launched the Gulf Initiative, a cross-government effort to deepen relationships with the Gulf Cooperation Council states. This paid off handsomely. In 2011 alone, UK exports to Gulf countries exceeded those to India, Russia, and Mexico combined. By contrast, under Starmer there has been no comparable deepening of relations, apart from the approaching completion of a GCC–UK free trade agreement — an effort that began under the previous Conservative government. The removal of HMS Lancaster from the Gulf and its scrapping by the end of this year is part of a wider maritime crunch facing the Royal Navy. Once Lancaster leaves service, the fleet will be reduced to just six destroyers and six frigates — the lowest number in modern history. This downsizing comes at a time when global shipping volumes are increasing and the threats to maritime trade are growing. For a globally engaged, free-trading island nation such as Britain, these choices are difficult to reconcile with its strategic posture. Under Starmer there has been no deepening of relations Luke Coffey In the 2025 Strategic Defense Review, Starmer reaffirmed that the UK would pursue a 'NATO-first' policy — an approach that makes sense. Yet this does not mean Britain can neglect other key regions, particularly the Middle East. In recent years, NATO has moved to strengthen ties with the Gulf states and expand cooperation on issues such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, and regional stability. One of NATO's strengths is that different member states bring different contributions to the table. Since Britain is a global power with global interests, its reach and capabilities help NATO act more effectively beyond the Euro-Atlantic area. The UK's decision to scale back its naval presence in the Gulf runs counter to this dynamic, undermining one of the most significant ways Britain can contribute to NATO's efforts in the Middle East. Britain cannot afford to send the wrong message to friends or foes about its staying power in strategically vital regions. The Gulf is not only a hub of global commerce and energy but also a testing ground for Britain's ability to project influence and safeguard the rules-based order beyond Europe. If the UK truly intends to be a global power with global interests, then maintaining a credible, visible, and capable naval presence in the Gulf must remain a priority — not an afterthought. • Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey
