Israel presses incursion in Gaza

JERUSALEM/GAZA — Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza on Tuesday, driving tanks and armored bulldozers through the rubble of shattered buildings and hunting for Hamas militants, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically ruled out a cease-fire.

Israel said its forces attacked Hamas gunmen inside the vast tunnel network beneath Gaza.

The tunnels are a key objective for Israel as it expands ground operations inside Gaza to wipe out the Hamas movement. Hamas has so far released four out of the 239 hostages Israel says were captured on Oct 7.Many of the hostages are believed to held in the tunnel network.

"Over the last day, combined IDF combat forces struck approximately 300 targets, including antitank missile and rocket launch posts below shafts, as well as military compounds inside underground tunnels belonging to Hamas," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

The fighting came after Netanyahu on Monday evening slapped aside a call from 120 countries for a sustained humanitarian truce.

"This will not happen," he told foreign media, vowing Israel would "fight until this battle is won".

"Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas," he said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Tuesday said the top priority now is the immediate full implementation of the United Nations' resolution as it reflects the strong voice of most countries, and to cease fire, stop violence and prevent the situation in Gaza from further deteriorating so there will not be an even greater humanitarian disaster.

Every country has the right of self-defense, he said, but it needs to abide by the international law and protect the safety of civilians.

Wang said the root cause of the cycle of conflict between Palestine and Israel is the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and noted that the basic rights of the Palestinian people have not been guaranteed for a long time.

"History has proved that violence cannot bring lasting peace and a cycle of violence and revenge only leads to further suffering," he said, adding that China will go ahead with unremitting efforts to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution to the question of Palestine.

Israel launched the operation on Oct 7 in retribution for Hamas-led raids that killed an estimated 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

More than three weeks of massive and sustained Israeli aerial bombardments have been followed by a large-scale ground offensive inside Gaza.

Global backlash

On Monday, witnesses saw "dozens" of Israeli tanks operating on the southern outskirts of Gaza City.

Israel's military also released images of mechanized units grinding through coastal sands in northern Gaza. They claimed an early victory: The rescue of one missing woman soldier from Hamas captivity.

But the toll from Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza has sparked a global backlash.

According to Gaza authorities, Israel's operation has killed more than 8,000 people, many of them children.

Thousands of buildings have been destroyed and the territory's 2.3 million residents have little access to water, food, fuel and other essentials.

Nearly 120 governments voted in favor of a nonbinding UN resolution calling for a sustained truce.

Gaza is believed to be on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, with very limited access to food and water, no fuel for electricity, and the "total collapse" of the health system.

On Monday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said the limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza was insufficient to meet the "unprecedented humanitarian needs".

"Nearly 70 percent of those reported killed are children and women," said Philippe Lazzarini, who heads UNRWA. "This cannot be 'collateral damage'."

Even Israel's staunchest allies have voiced concern over the dire humanitarian situation inside the territory.

In Washington, the National Security Council's spokesman John Kirby said "pauses" to allow aid into Gaza should be considered.

Israel said it is inspecting cargo to make sure weapons are not being smuggled in, and is monitoring to guarantee supplies are not seized by Hamas.

In Israel, citizens are still trying to comprehend the events of Oct 7.

Very little is known about the fate of the more than 230 hostages — aged between a few months and over 80 years old.

Hamas on Monday released a video of what it claimed were three women hostages, seated against a tile wall.

One of the women called on Israel to agree to Hamas' demand to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The time and place of the recording could not be verified.

Netanyahu decried the clip as "cruel psychological propaganda".

Mo Jingxi in Beijing contributed to this story.

Agencies - Xinhua