Israel pounds Gaza, Hamas fires rockets
CAIRO/GAZA/JERUSALEM — The conflict in Gaza ground into the new year on Monday amid Israeli attacks, with Hamas firing a barrage of rockets at Israel just as the clock struck midnight.
The Israeli military will release some reservists who were called up to fight Hamas in Gaza, a move it said on Sunday would help the economy as the country prepares for a prolonged conflict.
In a significant move, thousands of Israeli soldiers were shifted out of Gaza, but the fighting continued.
Airstrikes pounded Al-Maghazi and Al-Bureij in the center of Gaza, killing 10 people in one house and driving more to flee to Rafah on the border with Egypt.
A Red Crescent video published on Sunday showed rescuers working in the dark to carry an injured child from smoking rubble in central Gaza. Six people died in a strike on the village of Al-Mughraqa outside Gaza City, health officials said.
A separate strike on a house in Khan Younis killed one person and wounded others, they added.
As 2023 drew to a close, Palestinians in Gaza prayed for a cease-fire but had little hope the new year would be better.
“Tonight the sky in world countries will be lit by firecrackers, and joyful laughs will fill the air. In Gaza, our skies are now filled with Israeli missiles and tank shells that land on innocent, homeless civilians,” said Zainab Khalil, 57, a resident from northern Gaza now in Rafah.
Rockets fired from Gaza raced toward central Israel overnight, triggering sirens throughout the central and southern parts of the country. Israeli media carried footage of numerous interceptions. There were no reports of any direct hits.
Hamas’ armed wing said the barrage was in response to “massacres against civilians” in Gaza.
Israel’s air and artillery bombardment has killed more than 21,978 people according to health authorities in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the conflict would take “many more months” to end. His comments on Saturday signal no letup in a campaign that has killed many thousands, while his vow to restore Israeli control over the enclave’s border with Egypt raises questions over an eventual twostate solution.
In the Red Sea, US helicopters repelled an attack by Houthi militants on a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea, sinking three ships and killing 10 militants, according to the US, Maersk and Houthi officials on Sunday.
The naval battle underlines the risk of a regional escalation in fighting as Israel continues with its relentless bombing campaign in Gaza.