Israel breaks through, breaches Hamas’ defenses and begins the siege of Gaza City. The latest news about the war in Gaza paints a picture of the ever-increasing land offensive. “The ground operation is proceeding as planned. “Thanks to forward planning, precise intelligence and joint attacks (land, sea and air), our forces have broken through Hamas’ front lines defending the northern Gaza Strip,” said Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), quoted by the Times of Israel. At the end of the day, the IDF claimed responsibility for the killing of Muhammad A’sar, the commander of Hamas’s anti-tank missile firing unit, which was hit in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip today.
According to the IDF, which published a video of the airstrike and a photo of the killed man on X, A’sar was “in charge of all of Hamas’ anti-tank missile units.” Under his command there were “numerous” rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, the IDF added.
Israel advances with attacks that leave at least 15 soldiers dead. Meanwhile, armed forces units are arriving “at the gates of Gaza City,” said Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Division of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“It is Hamas that chose this war, not us,” the soldier stressed, explaining that his division “received an important mission to end it with Hamas.” He noted: “We have destroyed a large part of Hamas’s capabilities in the last five days, attacking its strategic structures, its explosives cache and its underground tunnels.” “It will be a long task,” but this “is a war for the sake of it.” existence of Israel” and “we will win it,” he concluded.
For the second day in a row, raids took place against the Jabalia refugee camp, where Israel believes Hamas is deliberately hiding behind civilian infrastructure. “They want these images of destruction,” Hagari said. The Palestinians say dozens of civilians have been killed recently, while Israel says the operation was aimed at eliminating one of the Hamas commanders responsible for the October 7 attack.
Hagari reiterated his appeal to Gaza’s civilian population to evacuate south through safe corridors the army had created for this purpose. In the southern areas designated for the civilian population, targeted attacks only occur against Hamas leaders. It is not a “safe zone,” Hagari said, but “the safest place of all places in Gaza.”
The first foreigners and wounded leave Gaza
There are at least 335 foreigners, including four Italians, or Palestinians with dual passports, who left Gaza and entered Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. In addition, 76 wounded Palestinians emerged.
The first injured were taken to Al-Arish Hospital in northern Sinai. A field hospital with four tents with 20 beds each was also set up in Sinai in Sheikh Zuwedi, 15 kilometers from Rafah. Hospitals in Sheikh Zuweid and nearby Al-Arish have prepared to receive new patients. The most serious cases are destined for Ismailia.
USA, Blinken arrives in Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel tomorrow. Meanwhile, Washington reiterated that “Hamas cannot be the future government in Gaza,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, noting that the United States is working with regional partners to figure out how what the future of Gaza could look like. But that “cannot be Hamas,” he reiterated, stressing that a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza is “not the right answer.” Washington advocates “temporary pauses in fighting” to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza.
also read