The Israeli military is gearing up for an intense night of airstrikes as it prepares to hit new locations of Hamas’s underground “Metro” complex.
IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said that the IDF has “an intensive night ahead of us” and will strike “new locations” of the sprawling network in two other sections of the Gaza Strip that have not yet been hit over the past four nights.
He made the comments after a large mortar barrage towards the Eshkol Regional Council killed two Thai workers and several civilians along with a soldier injured after a rare lull in rocket fire.
At least 10 civilians were wounded, four of them seriously following a barrage of over 50 mortars that hit the Eshkol Regional Council. The two Thai workers died on their way to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center.
A 19-year-old soldier was also wounded with shrapnel wounds to his upper body when a mortar hit the Erez Crossing where his unit was assisting in transferring humanitarian aid shipments to the Gaza Strip. He was transferred to Barzilai Hospital in stable condition.
Israel had temporarily reopened the Kerem Shalom Crossing to allow for the transfer of truckloads of fuel, medicine, animal feed and fuel tanks to the Gaza Strip.
According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), “the entry of the trucks was coordinated following the request of the international community and approved by the Minister of Defense this morning” and following the mortar barrage, Kerem Shalom was closed.
Dozens of rockets were also launched at Gaza border communities as well as the southern cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba.
Following the salvo, the IDF said that it had struck an underground launch site and rocket launchers belonging to Hamas in the Al-Moazi refugee camp in the central part of the Strip and another two rocket launchers in the northern and southern part of the coastal enclave.
Despite calls for a ceasefire, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the IDF has “thousands” more targets left to strike in the Strip.
“No person, area, or neighborhood in Gaza is immune. We have thousands of more attack targets that are only further accumulating. The IDF has many plans to continue striking Hamas and the fighting won’t stop until we bring about complete and long-term calm,” he said while touring a navy base in the southern port city of Ashdod.
“The international community also needs to understand that it was the Hamas terror group that opened fire and that is continuing to fire indiscriminately toward civilian populations, and it bears responsibility and is paying the price,” he added.
Israel plans to continue Operation Guardian of the Walls in order to strike at more high-quality Hamas terror targets, even as the US, EU and others pushed for a ceasefire.
Among those targets is Hamas’s Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif, who the IDF believes it has a chance of killing if the operation continues. Military sources told The Jerusalem Post that Dief had been targeted more than once during the last week of fighting but that he had succeeded at the last moment to get away.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a phone call with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday that Operation Guardian of the Walls will continue until Hamas is deterred for the long term."The IDF’s military campaign will continue to the end of achieving long-term quiet,” Gantz said, pointing out to Austin that Hamas continues to fire rockets at civilian populations.Netanyahu similarly said during a visit to the IAF base in Hatzerim that “we will continue as long as necessary to bring the quiet back to the citizens of Israel.”
“I am sure that all the enemies around us see how costly it is to attack us, and I am sure they will learn the lesson,” he added.Gantz and Netanyahu’s remarks came as the US continued diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire. Also on Tuesday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council held a meeting on the situation in Israel and Gaza, failing to produce a consensus statement calling for a ceasefire.
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