Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that troops reached the outskirts of Gaza City during their advance. “We are at the height of the battle,” Netanyahu said through his office.
“We have reached another important stage in this war,” said Chief of Staff General Halevi. The ground troops are supported by the Israeli air force, which operates in the Gaza Strip “with considerable force”. However, most of the armed forces are still prepared “if there is a need to attack on other fronts”.
12,000 targets attacked
Since the start of the war, the Israeli army claims to have attacked more than 12,000 targets in the Gaza Strip. These included weapons depots, buildings of Hamas Islamic leaders, Hamas terrorists and rocket arsenals, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Twitter (X) on Thursday.
According to Hamas, at least 27 people were killed in an alleged attack by the Israeli army near a UN school in the Jabalya refugee camp. The numbers could not be independently verified. Neither the school’s operator, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), nor the Israeli army initially commented on the incident. Israel accuses Hamas of using UN schools and hospitals as weapons depots.
AP/Abed Khaled Debris after Israeli bombing
Army sees hostage release as an “obligation”
Residents reported that the Gaza City area was bombarded with mortars overnight. Israeli tanks and bulldozers continue to advance. Israel asked the civilian population to leave the north of the area. In response to October 7, the government announced that it would destroy Hamas.
Almost four weeks ago, Hamas fighters in Israel killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and abducted dozens of people to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said the number of hostages was 242 on Thursday. Halevi says the army has an “obligation” to bring home all hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.
Fuel for hospitals promised
Halevi has signaled a willingness to ease the war embargo on the Gaza Strip under certain conditions. Hospitals that are running out of fuel for emergency generators can be refueled under supervision, Halevi told Israeli television in response to a reporter’s question. However, the fuel is not over yet. When the time comes, he will be taken to the hospital for observation.
“We will do everything necessary to ensure that fuel does not end up in Hamas’ infrastructure and that it is not used for war purposes, but for real medical treatment needs,” Halevi said. Netanyahu’s office said shortly after the announcement that there was currently no permission for fuel deliveries.
Request for hospital ships
Meanwhile, it was learned that Israel asked some countries – including Germany – for hospital ships to treat the wounded from the Gaza Strip. These were supposed to dock in Egypt and take in the injured Palestinians, the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, told Israeli radio station Kan. Egypt created a field hospital in Sheikh Suwaid, about 15 kilometers from Rafah. The most serious cases must be taken to hospitals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) called for security guarantees for deliveries of medical supplies to clinics in the Gaza Strip. The transport of aid supplies within the Palestinian territory is being hampered by the conflicting parties because it is almost impossible to obtain security guarantees from them, criticized the WHO’s main crisis manager, Mike Ryan, on Thursday in Geneva.
According to Ryan, the WHO has no information about Hamas bases in hospitals. The WHO is unaware of what may be happening beneath these clinics. If hospitals in the Gaza Strip are evacuated at Israel’s request, Israel, as the occupying power, must, in coordination with Palestinian health authorities, allow patients to be safely transported to alternative treatment centers, Ryan emphasized.
Tunnel system in sight
Meanwhile, according to the Israeli army, “various types of robots and explosive devices” are already being used to destroy the tunnels used by Hamas as a hideout. To do this, it is necessary to locate the entrances to the tunnel network.
Jair Golan, former deputy chief of the Israeli General Staff, made it clear in an interview with Army Radio that Israeli soldiers would not enter the tunnels under any circumstances. “It would be a big mistake to go into the tunnels” where Hamas hides and waits. In addition to the traps, it is practically impossible not to get injured during fights in the tunnel systems. But from the moment the entrances are found, the attackers have complete advantage. The tunnels would become a death trap for Hamas.
According to the army, more than 100 tunnels have been destroyed since the fighting began – not counting those hit by air strikes. It is unclear how far the network is spread beneath the narrow coastal strip. In 2021, the Israel Defense Forces reported the destruction of more than 100 kilometers of tunnels. Hamas, on the other hand, stated that its tunnels extended for more than 500 kilometers and that only five percent were reached.
More foreigners managed to leave Gaza
After the Rafah border crossing was opened on Wednesday, hundreds of foreigners and dual nationals left the Gaza Strip for Egypt on Thursday. According to information from Cairo, a total of “around 7,000” foreigners with “more than 60” different citizenships will be able to come to Egypt.
More foreigners managed to leave Gaza
After the Rafah border crossing was opened on Wednesday, more foreigners and dual nationals left the Gaza Strip for Egypt on Thursday. 31 Austrians managed to leave the region on Wednesday.
The 31 Austrians – most of them with dual citizenship – who were brought from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday arrived in Cairo accompanied by a crisis team after a long bus journey on Thursday night. “They are doing well under the circumstances, but they are extremely exhausted,” said an Itamaraty spokeswoman on Thursday afternoon, in response to a request from the APA. There are ten minor children among the evacuees.