The Israel Defense Forces advanced deeper into southern Gaza Saturday, raiding Hamas sites in Khan Younis and uncovering “documents of great value” from the terror group’s headquarters, the military confirmed on X.
The IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade also uncovered a command center of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad – an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood – in the city, the military said on X.
While the Israeli military concentrated increased resources on the campaign in southern Gaza, efforts also continued to disable Hamas in the north.
Forces in Gaza City took out dozens of Hamas operatives over the last day, the Times of Israel reported Saturday.
“The fighters are conducting fierce battles against terrorists, the Air Force is attacking terrorist units and infrastructure under the direction of the forces, and the Marine Corps fighters are assisting the forces maneuvering in the Gaza Strip with attacks and fire from the sea,” the IDF wrote on X, alongside videos and photo of the military operating throughout the small region.
On Friday, the IDF shared footage of the tunnels of Hamas general headquarters unearthed in one of leader Yahya Sinwar’s “hideout apartments” in northern Gaza, according to a post on X.
“Part of a long and branching tunnel network, the tunnel shaft in the apartment led to a 218 meter long tunnel, with a depth of about 20 meters,” the military wrote alongside photos of the shaft.
“Inside these tunnels, Senior Hamas officials were living comfortably with an electricity network, ventilation and sewage infrastructure, prayer rooms and resting rooms,” the post added.
The tunnel was destroyed after it was inspected by the IDF.
The Israel-Hamas war has been raging since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 terror attack on southern Israel.
In just under three months, Israel has dropped 29,000 bombs and munitions on Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Around half of Gazan buildings have been damaged or destroyed by the fighting, including 70 percent of the region’s 439,000 homes, the outlet said.
Only eight of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still accepting patients, the Journal added, and most of the communication, water, and electrical infrastructure has been decimated.
“The word ‘Gaza’ is going to go down in history along with Dresden and other famous cities that have been bombed,” Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, told the outlet.
Meanwhile, the IDF is facing criticism for allegedly failing to have a plan in place for a situation like Hamas’ massive surprise attack that killed 1,200 people, the New York Times reported.
The terror group overran the border and unleashed unspeakable horrors for several hours before Israeli troops successfully intervened, the outlet noted.
“In practice, there wasn’t the right defensive preparation, no practice, and no equipping and building strength for such an operation,” Yom Tov Samia, a major general in the Israeli reserves and former head of the military’s Southern Command, told the Times.
“There was no defense plan for a surprise attack such as the kind we have seen on Oct. 7,” Amir Avivi, a brigadier general in the reserves and a former deputy commander of the Gaza Division, added.
Yaakov Amidror, a retired Israeli general and a former national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said “there was no such plan” to repel such a violent assault because “the army does not prepare itself for things it thinks are impossible.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Syrian media outlets reported an alleged Israeli airstrike in the Aleppo area, the Times of Israel said.
Air defenses were supposedly engaged the strike over the Aleppo International Airport, the pro-government Sham FM radio said, according to the Times of Israel.
Images on social media showed what appeared to be large plumes of smoke in the area.
Earlier in the day, one Israeli was reportedly wounded in a car-ramming attack at a military position in Hebron in the southern West Bank, correspondent Carmel Dangor wrote on X.
The terrorist behind the attack was “eliminated,” Dangor said.
The car-ramming took place near the al-Fawwar refugee camp, not far from where a similar attack wounded five soldiers on Friday, the Times of Israel said.
On Friday, the US State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved a $147.5 million sale of equipment – including fuses, charges and primers – to Israel.
The transaction marks the second time in a month the Biden administration has bypassed Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel.
“It is vital to U.S. national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces,” the State Department said.
With Post wires