CrossFireArabia
Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sherif describes the inhumane conditions faced by over 200,000 civilians due to the ongoing severe Israeli siege on northern Gaza, amid a relentless assault for 17 days, which has resulted in the slaughter of over 600 Palestinians.
CrossFireArabia
Yedioth Ahronoth points out that a senior Israeli economic official says that enduring a long war in the north and south is hard on the Israeli economy. He noted the expansion of the war in the north has cost the Finance Ministry an extra $6.7 billion since the beginning of last September.
He added the expenses of one day of fighting in Lebanon amounts to around $134 million and may increase soon, pointing out the costs of ammunition used in Lebanon are very high.
The Israeli official stressed the expansion of the war requires an increase in the budget in light of the absence of funding sources according to Al Jazeera.
Recent data showed the growth of the Israeli economy continued to decline in the second quarter of this year, against the backdrop of the ongoing war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip and its expansion into Lebanon.
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics stated that the gross domestic product rose by only 0.3% on an annual basis in the period from April to June, down from the 0.7% growth rate announced the previous month, and the 1.2% growth rate announced last August.
Ten days ago, the Israeli Finance Ministry announced that the budget deficit reached 8.8 billion shekels ($2.34 billion) in September, as the war on the Gaza Strip escalated and expanded to Lebanon and other fronts.
The deficit rose in the 12 months through September to 8.5% of GDP, from 8.3% in the 12 months through August.
The rise in the deficit to 8.5% comes from an increase in military and civilian spending to finance the war, and the deficit has risen for the sixth consecutive month above the annual target set by the government at 6.6%.
Worth noting in 2023, Israel’s budget deficit was at 4.2%, and it plans to reduce it to 4% next year is now out of reach.
Spending on the war, which began on 7 October, 2023, exceeded 103 billion shekels ($27.35 billion).
CrossFireArabia
Hezbollah said Monday that it downed an Israeli drone and targeted Israeli artillery positions and troop gatherings in nine attacks carried out by its fighters on Sunday night.
In a series of statements, the group reported shooting down an Israeli Hermes 900 drone but did not specify the location of the incident.
Hezbollah also said it launched rocket barrages at Israeli artillery positions in the Beit Hillel and Odem settlements, as well as the Beit Hillel military base in northern Israel.
The group fighters also targeted Israeli troop concentrations in Khillat Warda, the eastern neighborhood of the town of Markaba, and a military movement in Jabal Kehail in the southern Lebanese town of Maroun El Ras.
Additionally, Hezbollah launched missile strikes on Israeli forces at the Al-Malkiyya site and hit the Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel.
Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon since Sept. 23 against what it says are Hezbollah targets, killing more than 1,500 people and displacing over 1.34 million.
The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed more than 42,600 people, most of them women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.
Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 this year by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon according to Anadolu.
CrossFireArabia
The Israeli army intensified airstrikes, artillery shelling, and gunfire in northern Gaza, Monday, amid a strict blockade that has halted the entry of food, water, fuel, and medicine, witnesses reported.
Witnesses said Israeli air raids and shelling continued for the 17th consecutive day, focusing on northern Gaza, particularly the Jabalia refugee camp, under an ongoing siege.
Israeli warplanes launched multiple airstrikes on the Saftawi area, Jabalia camp, and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the witnesses.
Israeli military vehicles were reported to be stationed near the Indonesian Hospital, the telecommunications area, and the Tawam roundabout, where intermittent gunfire was heard, the witnesses added.
In a statement, Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said: “The occupation (forces) continue to kill everything living in northern Gaza, destroying and demolishing residential homes.” He added that the Israeli forces were using siege and starvation tactics in Jabalia camp, preventing emergency teams from reaching the camp and other northern areas to evacuate the wounded.
A medical source told Anadolu that two Palestinians were killed and others injured in artillery shelling that targeted homes in the Saftawi area.
The Israeli army also continued demolishing and burning residential buildings in western Jabalia camp and Beit Lahia, witnesses said.
They added that the army destroyed an entire residential block near the electricity company close to Sheikh Zayed roundabout in northern Beit Lahia.
The situation has led to a severe food and water crisis in northern Gaza, as the Israeli military blocks the entry of trucks carrying food or aid, according to multiple sources and trapped residents.
On Oct, 6, the Israeli army attacked northern Gaza, claiming it was to “prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area.” However, Palestinians say Israel seeks to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
In Gaza City, two more Palestinians were killed by Israeli artillery shelling of Ahmed Yassin Street in the western part of the city, according to Palestinian paramedics.
Israeli warplanes and artillery launched intense strikes on the Sudaniya area, the Shati refugee camp in northwest Gaza City, and the Zaytoun neighborhood in the southeast, according to witnesses.
In central Gaza province, Israeli forces carried out artillery shelling and heavy gunfire north of Bureij camp and west of Nuseirat camp, though no injuries were reported.
Explosions were heard as residential buildings were demolished in northern Bureij and Nuseirat camps, according to a Palestinian Civil Defense source.
The eastern parts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza also witnessed heavy artillery shelling, with the strikes concentrated on the outskirts of Abasan al-Jadida town, accompanied by intense gunfire.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
More than 42,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 99,800 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
CrossFireArabia
A Gazan journalist calls the world ‘blind, deaf’ due to the international community’s failure to bring about an end to the ongoing bloodbath in Gaza.
