Israel’s military says it has “completely surrounded Gaza City” and is carrying out “widespread attacks on terror infrastructure” below and above the ground, after unveiling what it says is more evidence of Hamas’s “City of Terror” tunnel network.
Amid reports of “serious clashes” between Israeli forces and Hamas, the Hamas government in Gaza claimed that Israeli forces carried out “intense bombings” around several hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip shortly after telecommunications were cut.
Gaza reportedly suffered a total communications blackout for the third time since the war began, as the Israeli army announced it had surrounded Gaza City and split the besieged coastal strip in two.
“Today there is North Gaza and South Gaza,” said IDF spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari, calling it an “important phase” in the war against Hamas. Israeli media reported that troops are expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours.
It came as Israel accused Hamas of war crimes and unveiled new evidence they say shows the terror group is using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as military bases while preventing civilians from escaping.
Smoke and flames rise over Gaza City as fighting intensifies in the besieged strip’s main city
At another civilian facility, the Sheikh Hamad, known as the ‘Qatari’ hospital, Hagari showed photo evidence of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli forces.
Images show what the IDF believes are the entrances to Hamas tunnels under one hospital
“Hamas is weak without human shields,” Hagari said as the previously classified intelligence was released, which he said had been shared with partner agencies from the US and Britain.
Showing aerial photos of Hamas rocket launch pads near the “Indonesian” hospital in Gaza, he said the terrorists knew the IDF could not launch an airstrike with collateral damage to the hospital.
Amid crippling shortages of fuel for hospitals and homes, Hagari said other material shared by the IDF shows that there is “no shortage of fuel in Gaza.” It is owned by Hamas. They steal it from the hospitals.”
He added that some of that fuel was stored beneath the Indonesian hospital, which was just 75 meters from a launch site, and that the building was actually built over Hamas’s “City of Terror,” the spider’s web of tunnels beneath the enclave.
There was also a recording of a Gaza official telling a colleague, “They say there is a fuel shortage in Gaza, they are liars, liars,” in a recorded conversation, which Hagari said the United States had verified.
At another civilian facility, the Sheikh Hamad, known as the ‘Qatari’ hospital, Hagari showed what he said is photo evidence of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli forces.
He also showed video footage of Hamas terrorists shooting at Israelis from the hospital.
There were video and audio clips purporting to show Hamas actively preventing the evacuation of civilians from the northern Gaza Strip, which the Israelis encouraged by dropping 1.5 million leaflets, 6 million pre-recorded phone calls and 4.4 million text messages .
Israeli army flares light up the sky above the northern Gaza Strip
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers and tanks take position in the heavily bombed Gaza Strip
During a phone call, reportedly a recorded conversation, with a resident of the Jabalia refugee camp, an IDF officer tells them in Arabic: “There will be no safe place.”
He said some of that fuel was stored beneath the Indonesian hospital, which was just 75 meters from a launch site, and that the building was actually built over Hamas’s “City of Terror,” the spider’s web of tunnels beneath the enclave.
Showing photos of Hamas vehicles blocking the exit route from northern Gaza, Hagari said his fighters had fired anti-tank weapons at Israeli forces as they opened a humanitarian corridor to allow further evacuations.
The new intelligence came to light as the Israeli military said it has split the besieged coastal enclave in two.
Troops “have reached and are holding the coastline,” he added.
“There are now widespread attacks on terror infrastructure, both underground and above,” Hagari said.
On Sunday evening, dramatic images showed huge fireballs rising over Gaza City in the north, which Hamas has blamed on Israeli bombing.
“Heavy bombing has been going on around hospitals for more than an hour,” said Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government’s media office.
According to Marouf, there were particularly heavy attacks in the vicinity of the largest hospital in the Palestinian territory, Al-Shifa.
The bombing came after the Israeli army again accused Hamas of using hospitals in its military campaign against Israel.
“Hamas is placing troops and weapons inside, under and around schools, mosques, homes and UN facilities,” Hagari told reporters on Sunday.
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip
A photo taken from Sderot along the Gaza Strip border early November 5, 2023 shows smoke and fire rising over the Palestinian enclave during an Israeli attack
Destroyed buildings in Gaza City on November 5, 2023
“One of Hamas’ worst war crimes is its use of hospitals to hide its terror infrastructure,” he added. Hamas has repeatedly rejected the accusation.
When asked what action Israel would take against the Hamas facilities he had identified, he said: “I cannot say more, but it must stop,” adding: “Israel adheres to international law .’
Israel has ruthlessly pounded the besieged Gaza Strip in its battle to destroy Hamas, leveling entire city blocks and killing more than 9,700 people, mostly women and children, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
The attack on Gaza came after Hamas militants crossed the border on October 7 and killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israeli authorities say.
Israel continued its brutal attack on Hamas overnight, with IDF jets attacking a ‘terror base’
As Israel’s brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues into its thirtieth day, the conflict threatens to expand into all-out war on another front.
As the daily cross-border firefight between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continues across the Israel-Lebanon border, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said today that his army is ready to launch an attack.
“We have set ourselves the goal of restoring a significantly improved security situation at the borders, and not just in the Gaza Strip,” Halevi said today during an assessment at the 210th Division in northern Israel.
‘We are ready to attack in the north at any moment. “We understand that this can happen, and we trust that the defense here is strong,” he added.
Tensions are rising just a day after Hezbollah’s incendiary leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to escalate the war against Israel, warning of a “real battle.”
The powerful group’s leader praised the Alaqsa flood – the name Hamas used for its brutal attack last month.
He said the “glorious jihadist operation” had caused an “earthquake” in the Jewish state, exposed the weakness of Israel and its army and ushered in a new historic phase in the struggle.
“Your fleet in the Mediterranean does not scare us… We are ready to face the fleet you threaten us with,” Nasrallah said, addressing the US. “Anyone who wants to prevent a regional war must quickly stop the aggression against Gaza.”
The United States “is preventing a ceasefire and an end to aggression,” he added.
His heavily armed group, backed by Iran, carried out simultaneous attacks on Israeli positions along the Lebanese border, while residents of southern Lebanon reported the heaviest Israeli attacks yet.
The IDF said its planes struck Hezbollah targets in retaliation for their attack and combined the airstrikes with artillery and tank bombardments.