IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo released December 23, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Published December 23, 2023
Army says it intentionally caused dozens of gunmen to flee into building used as command center, then called in an airstrike; rockets target south for first time in nearly 48 hours
The Israel Defense Forces gave details Saturday on its ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, detailing gun battles and strikes on terror operatives as well as arrests.
Hamas, too, reported heavy shelling in several cities in the territory, hours after world powers in a UN Security Council vote demanded more aid be allowed into the Palestinian territory.
During ground operations in the southern part of Gaza City, the IDF said troops of the Yiftah Reserve Brigade carried out an ambush against Hamas, leading to dozens of terror operatives being killed.
The IDF said the troops opened fire in a deceptive manner to cause dozens of gunmen to flee into a building used as a command center. The building was then struck by a fighter jet.
Also in the southern Gaza City area, the IDF said Yiftah Brigade snipers killed several Hamas gunmen who were preparing to attack troops. Other buildings identified by the brigade as being used by Hamas in the area were struck by aircraft, the IDF added.
In an unspecified area of Gaza City, the IDF said troops of the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade identified a group of Hamas gunmen and called in an airstrike. In the Shati camp area of Gaza City, it said the 14th Brigade identified a further three Hamas gunmen who had opened fire at them. The brigade called in an airstrike to kill the three operatives.
The incidents in Gaza City indicate that while the IDF has operational control over the area, it is still battling smaller Hamas cells.
Meanwhile, in central Gaza, the army said the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade found a cache of weapons in a children’s daycare center, including mortars, RPGs and other explosives.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
RELATED: Israel strikes Gaza after UN calls for more aid but not ceasefire
Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians wept and prayed for their dead on Saturday after fresh Israeli strikes followed a UN Security Council resolution that demanded more aid be allowed into Gaza but did not call for an immediate halt to fighting.
Residents of Bureij refugee camp reach Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza after an army evacuation order © – / AFP
Published December 23, 2023
Clouds of grey and black smoke rose over Khan Yunis city in the south after strikes in the morning, and live AFPTV images showed black smoke drifting over the territory’s north.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip reported 18 people killed in a strike on a house at the central Nuseirat refugee camp, and said other targets were hit up and down the Gaza Strip.
The bombardments came after the Security Council approved a resolution demanding “immediate, safe and unhindered” deliveries of life-saving aid be rushed to Gaza “at scale”.
It also called for creation of “conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” but did not seek an immediate end to combat.
Members had wrangled for days over the wording.
At Washington’s insistence, they toned down some provisions and avoided calling for a ceasefire that would stop the war, which began with unprecedented attacks 11 weeks ago by Hamas militants on civilians in southern Israel.
It is still unclear what, if any, impact the vote will have on the ground where Gazans have been forced into crowded shelters or tents, struggling to find food, fuel, water and medical care.
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SOURCE: www.france24.com
RELATED: Israel blows up ‘subterranean city’ in Gaza where Oct 7 massacre was hatched
IDF says it located and destroyed a vast network of tunnels, hiding places and offices underneath central Gaza City square
Published December 22, 2023
Israel has blown up what it says was a “subterranean terror city” underneath a central Gaza City square that was used to plot the October 7 massacre.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it discovered “terrorist infrastructure” underneath Palestine Square, with lengthy tunnels connecting hiding places and offices belonging to Hamas’s senior military and political leaders.
Aerial footage released by the IDF late on Thursday night showed a series of explosions in the city centre destroying the underground infrastructure.
Israel reported earlier this week that it had secured control of what it called Hamas’s “elite quarter” in Gaza City from which Hamas leaders operated.
The complex has been described as a “centre of power for Hamas’s military and political wing”.
Some 600 Hamas terrorists were killed in the operation in the Rimal neighbourhood, the IDF claimed.
“Palestine Square was a centre of Hamas’s military rule and is surrounded by buildings that served as command and control centres, terror tunnel shafts and strategic buildings belonging to the organisation,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that Hamas’s infrastructure was embedded in a busy neighbourhood full of shops, residential buildings and a school for deaf children.
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SOURCE: www.telegraph.co.uk
