Hamas says it fires on Israeli forces pressing ground assault

Hamas has said its fighters in Gaza fired anti-tank missiles at Israel’s invading forces early on Tuesday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a halt to fighting that has deepened the Palestinian enclave’s humanitarian crisis.

According to Reuters, the al-Qassam brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said fighters clashed early on Tuesday with Israeli forces “invading the southern Gaza axis, (including) with machine guns, and targeted four vehicles with al-Yassin 105 missiles’, referring to locally produced anti-tank missiles.

The fighters also targeted two Israeli tanks and bulldozers in northwest Gaza with the missiles, al-Qassam said. Reuters was not able to confirm the reports of fighting. Israel’s military had no immediate comment.

Gaza health authorities say that 8,306 people, including 3,457 minors, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7. U.N. officials say more than 1.4 million of Gaza’s civilian population of about 2.3 million have been made homeless.

The mounting death toll has drawn calls from the U.S., Israel’s top ally, other countries and the U.N. for a pause in fighting to allow more humanitarian aid to reach the enclave.

Netanyahu said late on Monday that Israel would not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas in Gaza and would press ahead with its plans to wipe out the group.

Israel’s military said it struck more than 600 targets in recent days in Gaza, where Palestinian civilians are in dire need of fuel, food and clean water.

The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said that water supply through a pipeline from Israel to southern Gaza was cut off on Monday “for unknown reasons”, and that an announced repair of another pipeline to central Gaza did not take place.

HOSTAGES

Hamas released a video on Monday that showed three hostages seized by the Islamist movement on Oct. 7.

The women – identified by Netanyahu as Yelena Trupanob, Danielle Aloni and Rimon Kirsht – sat side by side against a bare wall, and Aloni addressed an angry message to the prime minister.

Netanyahu condemned the video as “cruel psychological propaganda” and said Israel’s ground campaign created possibilities for rescuing the hostages.

The conflict has led to demonstrations worldwide in support of the Palestinians, and antisemitic and Islamophobic harassment.

Biden administration officials, voicing alarm at reports of anti-Jewish incidents at U.S. universities, met American Jewish leaders on Monday to discuss steps to counter the surge, a White House official said.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin accused the West and Ukraine of stirring up unrest inside Russia after rioters in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan region stormed an airport to “catch” Jewish passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv.