The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said its fighter jets struck over 450 military targets of the terrorist organisation Hamas across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. “In the last day, fighter jets of the Air Force attacked over 450 military targets of the terrorist organization Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip. Among the targets attacked: military headquarters, observation posts, anti-tank firing positions of the terrorist organization,” the Israeli Air Force posted from its official handle on X. Meanwhile, the IDF said it has increased the number of troops on the ground as part of its expanded operation in the Gaza Strip. Forces are also operating deeper in the enclave than they have since the start of the war. An IDF officer was seriously hurt by a mortar impact while a soldier was moderately hurt during a gun battle with Hamas, the military said, as per The Times of Israel, adding that both incidents took place in the northern Gaza Strip overnight. The IDF said the pair was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Israel has been fighting Hamas since October 7, after some 2,500 terrorists infiltrated Israel, by land, sea and air, killing over 1,400 people, a majority of them civilians in their homes and at an outdoor music festival.
Meanwhile, IDF on Sunday re-issued urgent calls for civilians in Gaza to move south as the ground forces move to the next phase of its war with the terrorist group Hamas.
“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is expanding its operations. We are moving to the next phase of our war against Hamas in Gaza, from the air, land, and sea. On October 7, Hamas committed a crime against humanity. Israel is in a war, it did not start, and it did not sink. Hamas is attacking Israeli civilians while firing from among dozen civilians. These are both war crimes. Our fight is with Hamas. Not with the people of Gaza,” IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video posted to the IDF’s profile on ‘X’.
“Civilians in northern Gaza and Gaza city should temporarily move south of Wadi Gaza to a safer area where they can receive water, food and medicine. Tomorrow, the humanitarian efforts to Gaza led by Egypt in the United States will be expanding,” he added.
The IDF spokesperson said Hamas was using Gazans as human shields amid the ongoing offensive. “Hamas operated inside and under civilian buildings, precisely because they know the IDF distinguishes between terrorists and civilians,” he said.
Earlier, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the second stage of the war against Hamas started with the entrance of more ground forces into Gaza on Friday night, The Times of Israel reported. He said Israel’s goal is to “defeat the murderous enemy and to ensure our existence in our land”.
