Israeli forces strike Hamas targets in Gaza City and Khan Yunis
During a sweep of a multi-story building in that city, a UAV identified a booby-trapped explosive hidden under a blanket on the sixth floor.
During a sweep of a multi-story building in that city, a UAV identified a booby-trapped explosive hidden under a blanket on the sixth floor.
In recent weeks, Israeli troops in Gaza have neutralized dozens of terrorists, exposed weapons caches and tunnel networks concealed in civilian zones.
In the northern Gaza Strip, troops dismantled above-ground and below-ground terrorist infrastructure, including an ambush post where an explosive device was found.
In the southern Gaza Strip, IDF troops continue advancing in the Khan Yunis and Rafah areas, eliminating terrorists who posed a threat and destroying dozens of Hamas assets.
Roadside bombs remain the signature threat to convoys in dense Gaza streets.
The IDF announced the launch of its ground offensive on Gaza City, with fighter jets striking hundreds of targets, tanks bombarding Hamas positions, and ground forces beginning targeted raids.
As the offensive progresses, some 400,000 Palestinians have evacuated Gaza City, according to the IDF.
Five divisions are expected to take part in the push to deliver a decisive blow against the terrorists.
Al-Haddad has reportedly survived six assassination attempts, three of them during the current conflict.
Over the past weeks, IDF and Shin Bet forces have carried out coordinated operations in Beit Hanoun, striking tunnels and underground routes to eliminate the last remaining terrorists.
According to sources within the Southern Command, Hamas has prepared for this phase of the operation by building a network of tunnels along and beneath many of the city’s roads and buildings.
In preparation for receiving displaced residents in southern Gaza, the IDF is expanding Crossing 147 to increase the flow of aid into the designated humanitarian area.
Israeli forces continue to strike Hamas targets in the Gaza City area ahead of the ground invasion, with the IDF stating on Wednesday that more than 360 targets were attacked by dozens of aircraft in three waves.
IDF forces are intensively training and planning for the ground assault on Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, aiming to dismantle the terror group and rescue the hostages held since October 7.
Katz warned that if Hamas ‘murderers and rapists’ refuse Jerusalem’s offer to end the war, its leaders will be eliminated and the Gaza Strip ‘will be ruined.’
According to officials who spoke with Israel’s Channel 12, President Donald Trump approved the Israeli airstrikes.
The army is continuing to investigate the incident, as during a dawn alert, the troops are supposed to be at peak alertness and vigilance, specifically on the lookout against such an attack.
Hamas often sees them as a way to prolong negotiations and extract greater concessions.
The IDF has ramped up its Gaza offensive with targeted strikes on high-rises used as Hamas command hubs, now controlling 40% of Gaza City and pushing forward to dismantle the group’s urban strongholds.
Afana said he was calling from the phone of a Jewish woman he had just murdered, telling his parents to check WhatsApp for documentation of his killings.
