Israel kept up pressure in the Gaza Strip on July 2, bombarding parts of Khan Younis and Rafah in the south. The Israeli army had ordered the evacuation of residents of parts of those cities the previous day.
Eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded, according to health authorities in Gaza, which are controlled by Hamas and don’t distinguish between civilians and Hamas soldiers.
According to the United Nations, the evacuation was the largest Israel had ordered in the Gaza Strip since October when 1.1 million people were told to evacuate. This one involved 250,000 people “and will only heighten the suffering of civilians and drive humanitarian needs even higher,” a UN spokesperson said.
Meanwhile in the north, Hezbollah continued to demand a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for a halt to its heavy bombardment of northern Israel, which ramped up in May and continued at nearly the same pace in June. The bombardment forced the evacuation of 61,000 Israelis from 43 northern Israel communities in October, plus more from adjoining areas. Most have not been able to return home.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, in an interview with the Associated Press, wouldn’t commit to what the Lebanese militant group might do if Israel lessened the pressure in Gaza without a formal ceasefire.
Threats of wider war in the north have emerged as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah have staged near-daily strikes across the border and as the IDF has looked to conclude its war against Hamas. Israel has been positioning the army for battle in the north for weeks, and IDF officials have said levels of destruction, if it starts, would reach those seen in Gaza.
Hezbollah committed 288 attacks on Israel in June, compared with 320 in May, according to the Alma Research and Education Center, a strategic consulting institute tracking Israel’s northern frontier. Hezbollah used fewer anti-tank weapons but more suicide drones. On June 25, Hezbollah attacked Israeli military installations, like the base near Dishon, but also civilian targets such as the towns of Metula, Manara, and Yiron on June 24, according to Alma.
The army is under pressure to act in the north so that residents there can return home. Ceasefire talks in Gaza, though, have faltered. And the Israeli government faces pressure from its public not only to bring home the hostages Hamas still holds, but to declare what it will do with Gaza and who will govern there when the war is over.
Israel wants to come up with an alternative power structure that does not involve the existing administration. One plan floated was to govern through leading local families. But, according to press reports, such families don’t want to get involved because they fear Hamas retribution.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Israel’s Channel 14 television that his government had already made attempts to reach out to Gaza clans but that “Hamas eliminated” them.
On Monday, Israel released the director of Gaza’s main hospital seven months after it was raided by the military. The IDF said Hamas used the al-Shifa Hospital as a command headquarters and cover for its operations and showed reporters a fortified terror tunnel underneath it. Hospitals can lose their protection under international law if they are used by combatants for military purposes.
The release of hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia set off controversies. He alleged he had been beaten and tortured while being held.
Mr. Netanyahu and members of his ruling coalition said they hadn’t been consulted on the release. Mr. Netanyahu called the move an “egregious error and a moral failure.”
The release may have been prompted by Israel’s overcrowding issue with its Gaza prisoners, some of whom have been moved to regular prisons.
