U.S. Secretary of State Rubio visited Israel on Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, saying the U.S. would “solidly and unwaveringly support” Israel.Hours later, Israeli troops launched a ground attack and fierce air strikes on the city of Gaza in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Twenty-seven times in 37 minutes.
Israel's Jerusalem Post confirmed on the 16th that the Israel Defense Forces had "invaded" Gaza City on the evening of the 15th. According to reports, Israeli tanks have entered Gaza City.
According to the website of Israel's "Yediot News", the Israeli army "launched 37 strikes against Gaza City within 20 minutes." Local residents said that the Israeli army also deployed robots carrying explosives in some areas, and "Apache" helicopter gunships circled over the city and continued to fire.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesman of the Civil Defense Department of the Gaza Strip, said that the Israeli army's heavy bombing of Gaza City continues and has caused casualties. "Gaza City is under heavy, continuous bombardment and the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous," eyewitness Ahmed Ghazal told AFP.
According to the Palestinian news agency, the Israeli army began to intensify its bombing efforts on Gaza City on the evening of the 15th, citing local sources saying that Israeli aircraft are continuing to bomb Gaza City, almost without interruption.
Local medical personnel told the Palestinian news agency that on the same day, an Israeli military operation killed more than 60 people in the Gaza Strip, most of them in Gaza City.
The Israeli security cabinet approved in early August the plan by the Israeli army to take over Gaza City, sparking condemnation and opposition at home and abroad. The Defense Minister Katz held a meeting with Israeli Army Chief of Staff Zamil and other senior officers, with officials of the National Security Administration (Zimbert), approved the plan of action code-named "Gideon 2", which includes the siege of Gaza City, the cleansing of the armed personnel of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning via social media to all Palestinian residents in Gaza City on 9th of this month. This is the first time it issued an "all-city evacuation order" before the Israeli army launched a large-scale ground offensive.
U.S. Secretary of State show supports regional countries joint protest
On Friday, after meeting with Netanyahu, Rubio told a joint press conference that the United States supported Israel’s “destruction of Hamas.”
Rubio said Hamas cannot continue to exist as an armed group that threatens Israel. He said that only if Hamas is eliminated and all detainees are released will there be a "better future" in the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. State Department said that Mr. Rubio would visit Qatar next.Israel launched a "precise strike" on Doha's Hamas leadership on 9th, provoking strong international condemnation, and "stopping" efforts to mediate a ceasefire.
AP analysts pointed out that one reason Rubio visited Israel was to express firm support for Israel, as Israel is expected to face strong international condemnation at the upcoming UN General Assembly.Some European countries and Canada have recently said that despite strong opposition from the United States and Israel, they intend to recognize the Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly.
On the 15th, the Arab-Islamic emergency summit ended in Doha, Qatar. The summit issued a communique calling on the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to examine whether Israel's membership in the United Nations complies with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. In view of Israel's long-term disregard of United Nations resolutions, all member states should coordinate their efforts to promote the suspension of Israel's membership in the United Nations.
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