‘A deep sadness’ On Saturday Israel’s military said it was continuing operations around Gaza’s largest hospital Al-Shifa for a 13th day.Most of the Palestinian territory’s hospitals are not functioning and its health system is “barely surviving,” OCHA said.Israel’s military accuses Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group of hiding inside medical facilities, using patients, staff and displaced people for cover — charges the militants have denied.Troops first raided Al-Shifa in November, but the army says Palestinian militants have since returned. The army said it “continued to eliminate” militants and locate weapons in the area, adding to a toll of around 200 it earlier reported killed in the Al-Shifa operation.On Saturday Hamas said that in addition to the ongoing Al-Shifa operation, Israeli troops continued “aggression” against Nasser Hospital and “besiege” Al-Amal Hospital in the same city.The army said troops continue to operate in the Al-Amal area of Khan Yunis.Gaza’s Christian minority are marking Easter weekend, but in Jerusalem fewer pilgrims were visible.”There is a deep sadness you can feel in the air, which is probably heightened by what is happening (in Gaza),” John Timmons, of Australia, said on Good Friday, when Christians in the walled Old City follow the path they believe Christ took to his crucifixion.Timmons said he had thought twice about coming.’Speed up the pace’Fears of a wider regional conflagration intensified on Friday as Israel struck targets of Lebanon’s Hamas-allied Hezbollah movement in Syria and Lebanon.Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, Israel’s arch enemy.The Israeli military said it killed the deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket unit in south Lebanon in an air strike.In a new toll issued Saturday, a war monitor said the Israeli strikes in Syria on Friday killed seven Hezbollah members, seven Syrian pro-Iran fighters and 38 Syrian soldiers, the highest Syrian army toll in Israeli strikes since the Gaza war began.”We have turned from the ones who are repelling Hezbollah to the ones who are chasing them. We reach all the places that Hezbollah is present,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on a visit to Northern Command, where he vowed to “speed up the pace.”In their October attack, Palestinian militants also seized about 250 hostages. Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.Netanyahu is under domestic pressure, facing regular demonstrations, over his failure to bring home all of the captives.
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