IDF encircles Hamas stronghold of Jabaliya in preparation for next stage of war

IDF encircles Hamas stronghold of Jabaliya in preparation for next stage of war

EMANUEL FABIAN, AGENCIES and TOI STAFF

The Israeli army said Tuesday that its forces have completed the encirclement of the city of Jabaliya, and are ready to deepen the fighting as they sought to take control of one of the last major Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip.

Describing the battles that were being spearheaded by the Israel Defense Forces 162nd Division, the army said that it first hit Jabaliya with heavy artillery and air strikes to “prepare the ground for battle.”

Troops of the 401st Armored Brigade and the Nahal Infantry Brigade also battled Hamas operatives on the outskirts of the city, and the forces found and destroyed several rocket launchers in the area.

Three tunnel entrances, with Hamas operatives inside, were struck, the IDF added.

In the northern part of Jabaliya, troops of the 551st Reserve Brigade and other special forces worked to open up a route for the division to maneuver, the IDF said and added that the troops killed several Hamas gunmen, seized weapons, and destroyed tunnels.

The northern city of Jabaliya is considered to be a Hamas stronghold and has been a key target in the IDF’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which was launched after some 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed through the border with Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking some 240 hostages.

Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching an aerial campaign and a subsequent ground offensive that is aimed at toppling the terror group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, and securing the release of the hostages.

Also Tuesday, the IDF announced the deaths of two more soldiers killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the ground operation against Hamas to 68.

The ground operation has concentrated on northern Gaza but is expected to expand to the Strip’s south in the future stages of the war.

Jabaliya, four kilometers north of Gaza City, has an estimated population of 172,200 people and is home to the Indonesian Hospital. Earlier this month, the IDF said that it had compiled intelligence documents showing the presence of a tunnel network underneath the hospital, as well as aerial imagery showing rocket launchers a few dozen meters from the complex.

Meanwhile, Israel carried out airstrikes against 250 Hamas targets in the past day across Gaza, the IDF said earlier on Tuesday and added that it had destroyed the Hamas rocket launcher used to fire at central Israel on Monday.