Israeli actor being released from hospital after he was wounded in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli singer and actor Idan Amedi, known for his role in the popular series “Fauda,” was being released from the hospital Thursday after he was seriously wounded on Jan. 8 while his unit was laying explosives to destroy a tunnel in central Gaza.
Six Israeli soldiers were killed in the operation and dozens were injured when a tank shell prematurely ignited the explosives before the soldiers had cleared the area.
“Although I was seriously injured, my spirit is strong,” Amedi said in a news conference upon his release to home rehabilitation. “I refuse to make this injury the story of my life; it’s just another milestone. I will come back to sing and act, and with God’s help, I will also return to fight for my country.”
Amedi, 35, has been on reserve duty in the Israeli military since Hamas launched its terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel has enlisted roughly 360,000 reserve soldiers from all walks of life in its war against Hamas.
Amedi said he plans to return to act in “Fauda” after his rehabilitation. “Fauda” follows a team of undercover agents from Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, in their operations against Palestinians. The show is critically acclaimed.
Amedi played Sagi Tzur, a rookie undercover agent, during the series’ second to fourth seasons, and is also a successful singer-songwriter in Israel.
Fighting continues
Israeli troops and tanks pushed into Gaza City shortly after the ground invasion began in October and have been battling Palestinian terrorists there for nearly two months. The military says it has largely dismantled Hamas in northern Gaza but is still facing pockets of resistance.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza vowing to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in which around 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were abducted.
The offensive has killed over 25,900 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Israel blames the high civilian toll on Hamas because the terrorist group positions fighters, rocket launchers and tunnels in dense, residential neighborhoods. The military says it has killed thousands of terrorists and that 219 of its soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive.
For weeks, heavy fighting has raged as Israeli troops push into the southern city of Khan Younis and in a cluster of built-up refugee camps in central Gaza.
The death toll from a strike on a crowded U.N. shelter in Khan Younis on Wednesday has risen to 12, with over 75 wounded, according to Thomas White, a senior official with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA. He said 15 of the wounded were in critical condition.
UNRWA says two tank shells hit a building in a carpentry training center housing thousands of displaced Palestinians on Wednesday, causing the building to catch fire. It did not directly blame Israel.
The Israeli military said it has “currently ruled out” that the strike was carried out by its aircraft or artillery but was still investigating. It says the building might have been hit by a Hamas rocket.
Close, urban combat
The Israeli military said its troops were engaging in close, urban combat with Hamas terrorists in neighborhoods of Khan Younis, calling in airstrikes and attack helicopters to hit terrorists spotted with RPGs and weapons.
Footage released by the military showed paratroopers charging into the city’s municipal building. The soldiers scoured through empty offices and fired out of windows.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the offensive until “complete victory” over Hamas, and to return all the hostages.
The United States, Israel’s top ally, has provided crucial military support and shielded it from international calls for a cease-fire while urging it to scale back operations and facilitate the delivery of more humanitarian aid.
South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide before the U.N. world court at The Hague, which announced that it would issue a decision Friday on its request for an interim order telling Israel to halt the hostilities.
The U.N. has said it has been struggling to deliver aid to the north amid Israeli restrictions and continued fighting.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he told Netanyahu during a visit to Israel that there should be an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the fighting in Gaza that can lead to a permanent cease-fire.
Cameron was due to visit Qatar later Thursday to push for more aid to get into Gaza. A consignment of 19 tons of tents from the United Kingdom was due Thursday to be flown from Qatar to Egypt on its way to the territory.
Cameron called for Israel to fully restore water, fuel and electricity supplies to Gaza. “We need an immediate humanitarian pause to get aid in and hostages out, followed by a sustainable cease-fire, without a return to hostilities.”
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Jeffery reported from London and Keath from Cairo.