The Israel Defense Forces continued its ground operations in the Gaza Strip throughout Saturday, targeting several Hamas operatives and positions, the military said.
At the same time, the IDF warned residents of Gaza City that the area was now a “battlefield,” as it stepped up its air campaign against Hamas terrorists in the Palestinian territory.
“To the residents of the Gaza Strip: The Gaza governorate (Gaza City) has become a battlefield. Shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza governorate are not safe,” the army said in leaflets dropped by fighter jets, as it urged residents to “evacuate immediately” to the south.
Israel has repeatedly warned that it is heavily targeting Gaza City and other areas in northern Gaza, where Hamas is believed to have its main bases of operations and has extensive underground installations, many of them located under the city. The military has been urging some one million civilians to move to the Strip’s south for two weeks. Many have done so, but hundreds of thousands are thought to remain.
Also Saturday rockets were launched from Gaza at southern and central Israel in several barrages. Rockets hit the central cities of Kiryat Ono and Holon. One rocket hit a home in Ramat Gan. There were no casualties in any of the incidents.
Another rocket hit a home in the southern city of Beersheba, causing damage but no injuries. An Ashdod home was struck, with no casualties.
Hamas also claimed to have launched rockets at Dimona, the site of an Israeli nuclear reactor. There were no reports of an impact in the city.
At a press conference Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his heart was broken after meeting families of the kidnapped, and pledged, “We will utilize every opportunity to return our kidnapped brothers and sisters to their families’ embrace.”
“Their abduction is a crime against humanity,” he said.
The military published a series of clips showing the forces operating inside Gaza.
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