Control

The US, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, vetoed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The war continues until the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) sweeps through every nook and cranny of this crowded territory.

The human toll is piling. According to aid agencies, nine out of 10 of the population of Gaza are starving. Over 17,000 Palestinians have been killed and many thousands more injured since the IDF incursion began. The health system has all but collapsed. Over 80 percent of the population has been displaced.

Already a humanitarian disaster of great proportion, the bloody toll will continue to rise. The IDF has shifted its offensive to Gaza’s second city of Khan Younis, said to be Hamas’ stronghold. Intense, close-quarter fighting has been reported by eyewitnesses. The IDF has the city encircled.

Last month, the IDF asked the population of Gaza to move to the southern half of the strip to avoid bombardment. Khan Younis is well south of the territory. There is now truly nowhere safe for the civilians caught in the fighting.

Hamas earlier discouraged people from abandoning their homes. This was to conserve the human shields the terrorists were using them for. There were several incidents reported of Hamas fighters firing on civilian convoys moving south.

With intense fighting in Khan Younis and missile strikes at the town of Rafah on the border with Egypt, Palestinians have nowhere to go to. International aid, already a trickle passing through the border post at Rafah, is now difficult to distribute to the population. Foreign aid volunteers, including UN workers, have taken casualties.

Military analysts estimate it might take several more weeks to complete the military operation against Hamas. IDF reported it has uncovered and neutralized about 800 tunnel entrances, many located within homes and near hospitals.

About 130 hostages taken during the murderous Hamas strike on Oct. 7 are still held by the terrorists. At least some of them could be killed or injured with the IDF offensive shifting south. That will be part of the cost of dismantling Hamas.

An increasing number of countries have called on Tel Aviv to halt the offensive