Israel Expanding Ground Offensive Into Gaza; Missing Woman Found Dead
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
BERLIN/GAZA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel is expanding its ground offensive with armored vehicles being seen on Gaza’s main north-south road, close to Gaza City, in an operation that Israeli leaders say is aimed at “destroying the Hamas terrorist organization.”
The Israeli military said Monday that troops had killed “dozens of terrorists” during overnight clashes after they entered the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claimed more than 8,000 people were killed since Israel’s army launched its military actions against Gaza on October 7 when Hamas gunmen murdered 1,400 people in Israel, including Holocaust survivors and babies, besides kidnapping more than 200 men, women, and children.
However, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees complained Monday that Israel’s retaliatory strikes mean troubles for “hundreds and hundreds” of patients who “are stuck” in hospitals in northern Gaza.
Doctors say Israel told staff to evacuate Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City on Sunday but that moving patients – many of whom are in intensive care – is impossible.
There is also concern about a lack of basic necessities in Gaza, such as fuel, but Israel suggests that Hamas is using it to fire rockets at the Jewish nation.
The Israeli military also said Gaza has enough food to last weeks, sufficient water and medical supplies, and access to solar power and diesel. It accused Hamas of limiting civilians’ access to those vital resources as it continued its fight against Israel, using residents and hostages as collateral and human shields.
MISSING WOMAN DEAD
Amid these worries, Shani Louk, a 22-year-old Israeli-German woman who went missing when Hamas stormed a music festival on 7 October, has been confirmed dead by her family.
Louk’s mother, Ricarda Louk, told German broadcaster RTL/ntv that Israeli officials said a skull fragment had been discovered as her daughter’s based on DNA evidence.
The family earlier confirmed that Hamas fighters had paraded her body through the streets in Gaza. Footage emerged on social media with men being seen spitting at her and fighters shouting: “Allahu Akbar,” meaning “Allah is Greatest.”
Her family remained hopeful that although clearly unconscious, she may still be alive. Those hopes were shattered Monday with Israel’s Foreign Ministry saying: “We are devastated to share that the death of 23-year-old German-Israeli Shani Luk was confirmed.”
The ministry added on social media platform X that “Shani, who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists, experienced unfathomable horrors. Our hearts are broken. May her memory be a blessing.”
Adding to the horrors are reports that antisemitism is rising worldwide including in Britain, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms, also referred to as COBRA.
He expressed concern Monday at “a rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents” in Britain after tens of thousands marched through London and other cities over the weekend with many chanting: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” The government and Jewish groups see the slogan as calling for the destruction of Israel and Jews.