On 44th day of war, Israel says “Hamas will continue mopping up operations in and around Gaza.”
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Israel has announced it will expand its operation against the Palestinian militant group Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip and its outskirts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant referred to Hamas members in and around the Gaza Strip as ‘dead men walking’ at a press conference on the 18th (local time), according to the Times of Israel (TOI).
Gallant emphasized that there is no difference between a terrorist armed with a Kalashnikov (a Soviet-made automatic rifle) and a terrorist in a three-piece suit. TOI interpreted this as a reference to Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas leader based in Qatar, known for his suit-wearing.
At the event, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “The global pressure to end the ongoing war with Hamas is intense. But I want to let the world know that we will continue to fight until Hamas is destroyed.”
Netanyahu, in response to a question about allowing fuel to be brought into the Gaza Strip, a change from his previous stance, mentioned international public opinion and said there is no way to wage war without ensuring humanitarian needs. “If an epidemic breaks out, we can’t control everything,” he said, according to TOI.
Gallant said the IDF is still strongly attacking Hamas in the Gaza Strip and will soon launch operations in the south as well.
He stated, “We are in the second phase of a ground invasion, operating in the east of the Gaza Strip. Hamas has suffered a major blow, losing tunnels, bunkers, and outposts, and many high-ranking commanders have been killed.”
He further said, “We are reaching all sensitive locations in Hamas and attacking them. As the days go by, the places where Hamas terrorists can operate are decreasing.”
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The Israeli military also announced in a statement today that it has expanded its operational area to the east after capturing the western region of Gaza City.
Since the 27th of last month, the Israeli military has been conducting urban warfare in the northern Gaza Strip, taking over the Al-Shati refugee camp in the west of Gaza City near the Mediterranean, and continuing operations against Al-Shifa Hospital, where Hamas’s operational headquarters is believed to be located.
Daniel Hagar, a senior IDF spokesman, said today that the Israeli military is still conducting operations in the Al-Shifa Hospital area to discover Hamas’s underground infrastructure, according to TOI.
Hagar explained that the main tasks of the operation in this area are obtaining information on hostages held by Hamas, identifying the location of weapons and Hamas command posts, identifying the location of Hamas members in the area, and discovering and destroying Hamas’s underground infrastructure beneath the hospital.
He said, “At this very moment, special forces are operating in the tunnels discovered in Al-Shifa, and we will soon release the data. We are also conducting operations in other hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, where Hamas is believed to have infrastructure.”
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