December 4, 2023

*) Israeli army to 'fight hard' in southern Gaza Israel's ground invasion has expanded to every part of Gaza, according to its military, as it ordered more evacuations, vowing to hit south Gaza with “no less strength” than it hit the north. Heavy bombardment followed the evacuation orders, and Palestinians in the sealed-off territory bordering Israel and Egypt say there was no place left to go. Nearly half of Gaza's 2.3 million people fled to the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the beginning of the war on the enclave. Israel’s war on Gaza was sparked by the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 Israelis. And over 15,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli bombardment. *) Turkish Red Crescent sends over $3.4M aid to Gaza amid ongoing war The Turkish Red Crescent has dispatched over $3.4 million worth of aid to Gaza amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the head of the relief group said. Addressing an event in Istanbul, Fatma Meric Yilmaz said the Red Crescent had gathered about $17.3 million in financial donations, with the $3.4 million dispatched as immediate assistance. Additionally, the organisation has sent in-kind aid carried from Türkiye on 11 aircraft and two ships. *) US Muslims launch anti-Biden campaign ahead of 2024 presidential election Muslims in the US have launched a campaign against President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election in 2024 over his support for Israel in its war on Gaza. A group of Muslim leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania gathered over the weekend in Dearborn, Michigan to launch the campaign. The campaign aims to encourage voters to withdraw their support for Biden due to his “unwillingness to call for a cease-fire and protect innocents in Palestine and Israel," it said in a statement. American news website Axios said that Arab American and Muslim American outrage could hurt Biden’s re-election prospects in most of the 2024 swing states he won in 2020