You remember on 7th October 2023, Hamas launched 5000 rockets on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Several people were taken hostage. Israel responded to the attack and declared war which is still going on. Here’s link to our previous video on this incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvB6B3Z3480 
The Israelis informed the US that they have begun “carefully testing out” flooding some of Gaza's tunnels with seawater “on a limited basis” to test the ability to degrade the tunnel network on a larger scale. The Israelis are still unsure of whether it will work, but they assured the US that they are being careful to only test it in tunnels where they do not believe hostages are being held. Israel also believes 135 hostages are still being held by Hamas, some of whom are believed to be US citizens. Israel’s IDF (army) has started pumping seawater into Hamas’s underground tunnel system in Gaza. The aim of this is to destroy the Palestinian terror group’s network of passages and hideaways and drive its operatives above ground to have a face to face war. This news was reported in the Wall Street Journal citing unnamed U.S. officials. The report also said that the process would likely take weeks. Some US officials have said the process could help destroy the tunnels, where Israel believes the Hamas group is hiding hostages, fighters and munitions. Other officials have expressed concerns the seawater would endanger Gaza's fresh water supply. The flooding process began after the IDF added two pumps to five pumps which had been installed for the purpose of flooding the tunnels last month. Satellite images analyzed by various media organizations have shown massive water pipes starting at the Mediterranean Sea and ending in various parts of the coast of the Gaza Strip. According to experts, the construction of the tunnels is done to accommodate the possibility of intentional or natural flooding, which happens quite often each winter in Gaza. Russia warned Israel that flooding the underground of Gaza with seawater is a war crime because it would pollute underground water in Gaza, as well as irreversibly damage the environment. It seems Israel wants to make the Gaza strip inhabitable. Israel's military did not immediately comment on the report. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed in the initial attack, while the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 18,400 Palestinians have died in Israel's bombardment since. UAE with the backing of other Arab countries had called for the new special session of the UN General Assembly,  expressing concern at the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. It demanded an immediate ceasefire and called for the protection of civilians, humanitarian access, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Out of the 193 UN member nations, 153 voted in favor of the resolution. Ten countries including the United States, Austria, Israel voted against, while 23 countries including Argentina, Ukraine and Germany abstained. In October, India had abstained in the General Assembly on a resolution that had called for an immediate humanitarian truce. However, this time, India voted in favour of the ceasefire resolution. Before the UN vote, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said: “A ceasefire means one thing and one thing only – ensuring the survival of Hamas, ensuring the survival of genocidal terrorists committed to the annihilation (destruction) of Israel and Jews.” Ahead of the vote, the prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand -- close allies of Israel as well as the United States -- said in a joint statement, “We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians." Also the US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the country risked losing global support for its war against Hamas because of its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza. He said that the United States will support Israel in the face of the brutality of 7th October, but that "the safety of innocent Palestinians is still of great concern." In his most blunt remarks since the 7th October attack on Israel by Hamas, which provoked the current conflict, Biden said that Netanyahu needed to "change" his stance on a two-state solution for the Palestinians. Netanyahu meanwhile said there was a slight disagreement with Biden over how a post-conflict Gaza would be governed. Biden also announced that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be sent to Israel this week for discussions with the war cabinet. Let us see what happens in the war now.

Tags

• israel
• hamas
• gaza tunnels
• sea water

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