Israeli defense minister announces 'advancing to the next stage' in Gaza Strip

[Almost Heaven]

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Thursday a “next phase” of the operation in Gaza, during a situational assessment overviewing the military’s progress, particularly with the latest activity in the Al-Shifa Hospital complex.

"I arrived today at the headquarters of the division whose special forces also operate inside the Shifa hospital,” Gallant began his situational assessment alongside the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Deputy Chief of Staff and other senior officers.

The IDF earlier said it found signs of significant underground infrastructure located under Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, as well as “definite information that indicates a connection between Hamas activity in the hospital and the issue of the hostages.”

“There are significant findings. We are working with precision and determination. We have completed taking over and clearing the western part of Gaza City and are now advancing to the next stage of the offensive,” the Israeli defense minister declared.

i24NEWS

www.i24news.tv

 

[Andy C]

Keep going Israel until Hamas has been eliminated.

 

[Margery]

Family of Yehudit Weiss: It was too late for her, it’s not too late for rest of hostages

* * *

www.timesofisrael.com

They found the body of one of the hostages in Gaza near the Shifa hospital.

I learned on Rebekah Koffler's newsletter today (Cut to the News formerly White House Dossier) that the IDF used robots to map the tunnels, check for hostages, and explosives to detonate the booby traps. The resulting explosion sent dirt and debris up via multiple openings to the tunnels in nearby areas. Here's the link to the Reuters news source on this. With mapping robots and blast gel, Israel wages war on Hamas tunnels

"After locating what they described as the entrance to a Hamas tunnel under an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, Israeli army engineers filled the passage with exploding gel and hit the detonator.

The blast engulfed the building and sent smoke spewing out of at least three points along a nearby road in a district of the city of Beit Hanoun, surveillance footage showed.

"The gel spread out and exploded whatever they had been waiting for us in the tunnel," an army officer told reporters at a briefing at Zeelim Ground Forces Base in southern Israel.

Clearing the tunnels is an important part of Israel's military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.

When not using munitions to map out the bunkers, access shafts and tunnels which both sides say run for hundreds of kilometres (miles) under Gaza, the army opts for tracker robots and other technology operated remotely."

"EFFORTS TO AVOID ENDANGERING HOSTAGES​

Hamas took some 240 people back to Gaza as captives in the Oct. 7 attack in which about 1,200 people were killed, Israel has said. One of a handful of hostages released said she and at least two dozen others had been held in a tunnel.

The army officer said care was being taken not to endanger tunnels that may contain hostages.

"We sometimes get indications that this (a target) might be related to hostages. And then we know not to attack it unless we get an approval (that it is clear)", he said""

 

[spartan sprinter]

I wonder how much of Hamas remains ?

 

[Greg]

With all the blasts going off, I wonder what could happen to structures etc on the surface. Not sure how deep the tunnels are, but I have a mental picture of Gaza just kind of collapsing into the underworld.

 

[spartan sprinter]

With all the blasts going off, I wonder what could happen to structures etc on the surface. Not sure how deep the tunnels are, but I have a mental picture of Gaza just kind of collapsing into the underworld.

I heard they have a lot of tunnels set up so they may not get all of them