The Israeli army is conducting an operation at an unspecified location in the Gaza Strip this Sunday (3) Israel Defense Forces/Disclosure/Portal 12/03/23
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said on Sunday (3) that his troops were expanding their operations against Hamas terrorists towards the south of the Gaza Strip, into areas where ground troops had not previously entered.
“We fought hard and exhaustingly in the north of the strip, and now we are doing it in the south,” Halevi explained, after several neighborhoods of the southern city of Khan Younis were ordered to be evacuated in the last few hours, where many people were moving. Now to the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt.
In recent hours, unconfirmed information and images have appeared on social media showing Israeli tanks fighting in the southern part of Gaza City and the northern part of Khan Younis.
At his daily press conference, Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed that troops were expanding their ground offensive to “all areas of the Gaza Strip.”
Israel has been at war with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, since October 7, when members of that group spread terror on Israeli territory, massacring 1,200 people and kidnapping another 240 who were taken into underground captivity in the Gaza Strip. The majority of victims are civilians, including women, children and the elderly.
Broken truce
Since the ceasefire was broken on Friday (1), the Israeli army has intensified its bombings in the central and southern areas of the enclave, areas where troops are expected to concentrate their operations in the coming days after taking control of the largest have taken over part of the area. north of the territory, including the city of Gaza, as part of its ground offensive that began on October 27.
According to Halevi, this offensive will have the same strength as the one in the north, “and Hamas commanders will face the Israeli army everywhere.”
According to analysts and media, Israeli operations in southern Gaza need to be more precise and targeted, in part due to the large presence of Palestinian civilians displaced from the north.
In recent days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after a new visit to Israel, wanted to know more details about Israel’s military plans in the southern Gaza Strip and called on the country to protect the lives of civilians in the area as much as possible during the war.
The last four days have been one of great excitement and relief for several families of people kidnapped on Israeli soil by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7th. After around 50 days in captivity, women and children were able to smile again when reunited with their loved ones.
Avigail Edan, 4, talks with her uncles, Aunt Liron and Uncle Zuli, at Shneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel. The girl’s parents were murdered by terrorists in the family home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the girl was taken to Gaza
Avigail, who also has American citizenship, met with her grandmother Shlomit at the Hatzerim air base, where hostages are taken immediately after leaving the Gaza Strip across the border with Egypt
The Brodetz family reunited at the hospital after being away for more than 50 days. In the photo, father Avihai hugs his 11yearold son Yuval
Yuval was kidnapped by the terrorists along with his mother Hagar and his two brothers Ofri and Oriya
Shoshan Haran alongside 38yearold Adi Shoham and his 8yearold son Nave Shoham. The three were released on Saturday
Maayan Zin is reunited with her two daughters, Dafna Elyakim, 15, and Ela Elyakim, 8, who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7. “After a long period of living in terrible uncertainty, my daughters are finally with me… The girls are returning to a new and complex situation and now we are in a period of recovery that will take time,” said the Mother
Sharon Hertzman Avigdori, 52, was released into the group on Saturday and sees her son Omer after he arrived on Israeli soil
Hila Rotem Shoshani, 12, hugs her uncle in the hospital. She was released without her mother, which Israel viewed as a breach of the agreement by Hamas terrorists. The daughter stated that the two were together until two days before her release and that her mother was fine.
IrishIsraeli girl Emily Hand, 9, hugs her father Thomas after being released on Sunday (26).
Shortly after the terrorist attack, Thomas was informed by authorities that Emily was dead. He is a widower his wife died of cancer a few years ago
The Asher family was part of the first group released on Friday (24). Mother Doron (34) and her daughters Raz and Aviv, aged two and four respectively, were kidnapped by terrorists from the family home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of October 7th. The father, Yoni, was not at the residence at the time
The first group also included mother and daughter Danielle Aloni, 45 years old, and Emilia, 5 years old. They were reunited with their family members while still in the hospital.
Ohad Munder, who celebrated his ninth birthday as a hostage in Gaza, was one of the children released on the first day of the ceasefire. In the hospital he ran into his father’s arms