Gaza [Strip], December 5: After The New York Times reported that the Israeli army was speeding up construction in this Palestinian land, the US State Department has just spoken out against all activities of Tel Aviv building a permanent base in the Gaza Strip.
The US reiterated that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had opposed a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza. "There can be no reduction in the territory of Gaza. There can also be no forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes," AFP quoted US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel as saying.
Gaza's Future
The US State Department said it could not confirm the information in the article, including analysis of satellite imagery showing accelerated construction of the base at the same time as the destruction of hundreds of buildings in central Gaza.
Since the start of the conflict in October 2023, Israeli forces have controlled a 6.5-kilometer stretch of land known as the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts across the Gaza Strip from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean, to prevent residents from returning north. The area has gradually expanded to about 45 square kilometers controlled by Israeli forces, according to the Israeli military and satellite images. In the past three months, according to The New York Times , Israeli soldiers have destroyed more than 600 buildings, apparently to create a buffer zone and expand a network of outposts with communication towers and defensive fortifications. The article said Israel has at least 19 large bases and dozens of smaller ones in the area. The moves have raised suspicions of a long-term Israeli presence in Gaza .
Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani confirmed the expansion of the area along the Netzarim corridor, but said the aim was to make it easier for Israeli forces to maintain control. "Anything built there can be dismantled within a day," he said. In a move to prepare for Gaza's future, Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a committee to jointly run the enclave, despite their fierce opposition.
Tensions in Syria
Regarding violence in the Middle East, the US Department of Defense said that the US military has just carried out a "self-defense attack" against weapons systems in eastern Syria.
Accordingly, US forces destroyed several mobile rocket launchers, a tank and mortars on December 3. Reuters quoted Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder as saying that the weapons "pose a clear and imminent threat to US and coalition forces" against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).
"We are still assessing who used these weapons, but we know that there are Iranian-backed militias in the area that have carried out attacks," he said, adding that the US strike was not related to the escalating conflict between opposition forces and Syrian government forces.
Regarding the escalating conflict in Syria , Russia and the US had a heated argument on December 3 at the UN Security Council meeting on this issue. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and Russia of causing civilian casualties in attacks on schools and hospitals. In contrast, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia criticized "the US does not have the courage to condemn a terrorist attack targeting people in peaceful Syrian cities".
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper