Details of the exemption are currently unknown. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the army and secret service. Addressing Hamas, he said: “You are monsters. We will continue to hunt you. We will fight you until you fall at our feet.” He had previously said: “We continue our efforts to free the hostages, including during the ground operation, and this will even create opportunities for their release and we will not miss them.”
At the same time, according to the army, ground troops continued to advance into the Gaza Strip. Army statements suggest fierce fighting with Hamas – dozens of Hamas terrorists barricaded in houses and tunnels were killed, an army spokesman said. According to previously unconfirmed reports, Israeli tanks have now advanced to the outskirts of Gaza City.
“Dozens” of tanks in a central traffic artery
In the al-Saitun district, “dozens” of tanks took up positions in a central artery that connects the north and south of the Gaza Strip. Salah al-Din Street was targeted by Israeli tanks and warplanes, the AFP news agency reported, citing eyewitnesses. The BBC referred to a video apparently filmed south of Gaza City that showed an Israeli tank firing at a car.
According to the BBC, the verified video shows the depth of the penetration of Israeli ground troops into the Gaza Strip. The road, which was previously blocked due to fighting, is now open again, the BBC reported in the afternoon, citing its correspondent in the Gaza Strip.
Graphics: APA/ORF; Source: New York Times/IDF
There is no confirmation from the Israeli military. Recently, however, there have been increasing indications that Gaza City could be surrounded. Observers spoke of images showing Israeli tanks on the beach in northern Gaza, as well as reports that Israeli ground troops had taken up positions in several locations around Gaza City.
As reported by the North American television station CNN, based on its own aerial photographs, the Israeli military has now advanced approximately three kilometers into the isolated Gaza Strip. The coastal strip of the eastern Mediterranean is around 40 kilometers long and between six and 14 kilometers wide.
Israeli tanks advanced into Gaza City
On Monday, the Israeli military advanced its ground troops to the outskirts of Gaza City. According to his own statements, he killed dozens of terrorists in 24 hours. Additionally, around 600 targets were attacked from the air.
Even more strengthened ground troops
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari did not provide any information Monday morning about the possible locations of Israeli ground troops in the Gaza Strip. Anticipating fierce urban warfare in cities across the Palestinian territory, Hagari again appealed to Palestinian civilians to head south to a “safer area.”
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In the advance with ground troops that has been underway since the weekend and is described by Israel as the “next phase”, everything is going “according to plan”, said Hagari at a press conference on Monday. Israel’s military released images on Sunday night showing ground troops advancing into the Gaza Strip.
Additional soldiers were deployed to the Gaza Strip on Monday night. “Our activities there will intensify,” said Hagari, who spoke of an “expanded ground operation” and described it as follows, according to CNN: “Ground troops, tanks, infantry and armored forces are moving toward the terrorists who are hiding in a camp and trying to attack us. So we attack them from the air.”
Hamas also speaks of “fierce fighting”
Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip continued to attack Israel with rockets, the DPA reported. Warning sirens sounded on Monday in Jerusalem, in the center and south of the country, the army announced. There have been no reports of casualties yet.
“Our fighters are currently fighting fierce battles with machine guns and anti-tank weapons against the invading occupation forces in the northwest of the Gaza Strip,” Hamas said in a statement late on Sunday. The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it had fired “mortars and rockets” at an Israeli military base in Erez. Erez is the most important border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip – and, like all border crossings into Israel, it is currently closed.
Israel completely isolated the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7. According to Israeli information, the terrorist organization killed around 1,400 people and took at least 239 people hostage in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, more than 8,300 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israeli attacks began, according to Hamas.
Israel: 600 targets attacked in 24 hours
In addition to the ground offensive, the Israeli army continues to attack targets in the Gaza Strip with warplanes and artillery. In total, more than 600 targets in the Gaza Strip were attacked in 24 hours, including weapons depots, dozens of anti-tank missile launch sites and Hamas hideouts and bases, the Israeli military said on Monday.
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Residents of the Palestinian territory reported heavy air and artillery attacks. Palestinian media reports said areas near two hospitals were bombed from the air. Israel asked that the hospital premises be evacuated over the weekend.
Israel accuses Hamas of entrenching itself in and around civilian infrastructure, such as hospitals, and of using the civilian population as protective shields. The Israeli army suspects that Hamas headquarters are under Gaza City’s largest hospital.
“Next phase”
Israel announced over the weekend that it had entered a “second phase” of its war against Hamas, saying on Sunday that it would intensify its ground operation in the Gaza Strip following weeks of airstrikes on Hamas-controlled territory. The attacks are now being carried out “from the air, on land and at sea”, as Hagari announced in a video released by the military on Sunday night.
When Israel announced the mobilization of 300,000 reservists following the Hamas attack on October 7, many expected a large-scale ground offensive. Instead of a sudden major attack, Israel now apparently relies on a gradual expansion of its ground operations against Hamas. The country is prepared for a “long and difficult” war, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said at a press conference on Saturday.