Israeli Army Destroys Homes of Senior Hamas Officials in Gaza City as Fighting Escalates

64

Israeli Army Destroys Homes of Hamas Officials in Gaza City

The Israeli Army claimed today to have destroyed several homes of senior officials of the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza City. The army carried out raids in the residential neighborhoods of Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal to identify “terrorist infrastructure.”

The Army released a video showing soldiers attacking several homes in the Rimal neighborhood, stating that the residences of senior Hamas officials had been taken control of to carry out and direct terrorist activities.

During the operation, the Army located 35 underground tunnel shafts, a “large number” of weapons, and “several terrorists were eliminated.”

According to a statement by the military, soldiers from the Parachute Brigade, together with the Armored Corps, the Engineering Corps, and the Israeli Air Force, operated in the Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal areas to identify and destroy Hamas infrastructure and assets. They also attacked a Hamas military base where “ammunition depots and seven rocket launchers” were found.

In addition to the raids in Gaza City, the Israeli Army attacked targets of the Islamist group in the cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and the Zaytun neighborhood in the northern part of the strip before advancing its offensive toward the south of the Palestinian enclave.

The continued fighting has raised the number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza to more than 12,300, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which estimates that the death toll now exceeds 16,000 due to the thousands found under the rubble. In the Israeli ranks, the ground offensive inside Gaza that began three weeks ago has caused 59 casualties.

The ongoing conflict began on October 7 with a Hamas attack on Israeli soil that left more than 1,200 dead – some 350 in uniform – and more than 240 kidnapped, who are still captive in the strip. Israeli troops have already recovered the bodies of at least two hostages.