Day 59 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 4

The Israeli military has expanded operations in southern Gaza as its aerial bombardment intensifies, while regional tensions are escalating with continuing attacks on commercial by Iran-backed groups in the Red Sea.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Monday, Dec. 4, 2023

3:00 pm: Turkey threatens ‘serious consequences’ for Israel pursuing Hamas members in its territory

Turkey warned Israel on Monday over Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s remarks on hunting Hamas members in Turkey. Ezgi Akin and Rina Bassist report.

2:00 pm: Telecoms down across Gaza

The main telecom company operating in the Gaza Strip said Monday that internet connections and phone services had been cut across the enclave. "We regret to announce that all telecom services in Gaza Strip have been lost due to the cutoff of main fiber routes from the Israeli side," PalTel said in a statement. The internet monitoring site NetBlocks also said in a post on X that “the Gaza Strip is now in the midst of a near-total internet blackout.”

1:15 pm: US makes progress on second Gaza crossing

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the United States is working with Israel to reopen its Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza.

The current entry point for aid in Gaza — the Egypt-controlled Rafah crossing — was used for pedestrian and commercial traffic before the war. The Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, which remains closed, was the main entry point for aid trucks.

4:37 am: Israeli tanks enter southern Gaza

Dozens of Israeli tanks accompanied by armored personnel carriers entered the southern part of the Gaza Strip near Khan Yunis, witnesses told AFP. Fears are growing of an imminent Israeli ground offensive in the south, where the majority of an estimated 1.8 million displaced people are sheltering. Earlier, the Israeli army called on the residents of central Khan Yunis to evacuate further south.

3:07 am: Cross-border fire in south Lebanon continues

Several towns in south Lebanon have come under Israeli artillery shelling, the official National News Agency reported. The Israeli army earlier reported mortar shelling fired from south Lebanon toward Kibbutz Yiftah in northern Israel. The Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy fire exchanges along the Israel-Lebanon border since the Hamas-Israel war erupted Oct. 7.

2:01 am: Israeli military strikes 200 Hamas targets overnight

The IDF attacked 200 Hamas targets over Sunday night into Monday, said IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, adding that infrastructure used by Hamas located inside schools in the northern Gaza Strip were destroyed. Targets included two tunnel shafts, one of them booby-trapped, situated under a school in Beit Hanoun, where Israeli troops also found ​​explosives and weapons. Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip during the night.

2:00 am: Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid

Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians in a car during a raid in the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, according to the official Wafa news agency. The Ministry of Health said the bodies were not identified and were seized by the Israeli army. Israel's Army Radio confirmed two gunmen were killed during the raid in the city. Two more people were injured and two others detained. At least 256 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry.

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