The IDF says thousands of troops are preparing to join military operations in Gaza, ramping up the military’s renewed ground offensive against the Hamas terror group, which is currently being carried out with limited forces.
The army’s 36th Division, which spent months in the north and took part in a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, is being redeployed to the Southern Command and has begun preparations for military operations in the Gaza Strip, the IDF says.
Currently, only the IDF’s Gaza Division and 252nd Reserve Division are carrying out operations inside the Gaza Strip. The move will add thousands of more troops to the offensive.
Israel has threatened to expand operations in the Strip as it seeks to pile pressure on Hamas to free hostages still being held in the Strip.
Netanyahu discusses resumption of Gaza fighting with Rubio
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, says the Prime Minister’s Office.
The two discussed attempts to free hostages from captivity in Gaza, and the resumption of combat in the Strip, Netanyahu’s office says.
According to the Israeli readout, Rubio “expresses America’s unequivocal support for Israel and its policies.”
There is no immediate statement from the State Department on the call.
Hamas battalion chief, deputy commander killed in Gaza airstrikes, IDF says
Two senior Hamas commanders were killed in recent airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, the IDF and Shin Bet say.
According to the army, Ahmad Salman ‘Awj Shimali, the deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade, and Jamil Omar Jamil Wadiya, the commander of the Shejaiya Battalion, were killed in airstrikes in recent days. The military does not detail where or when they were killed.
According to the IDF, Shimali was “responsible for operations, planning the offensive strategy and building the brigade’s force in preparation for Hamas’s brutal massacre on October 7,” and during the war, he was responsible for the deployment of the brigade’s force.
Gazans allege Israeli strike on major Khan Younis hospital
Gazan media reports claim that Israel carried out an airstrike on the second floor of Al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the largest hospital in southern Gaza. The reports claim that there are several casualties from the attack.
Videos show a fire breaking out in the hospital, but no footage has emerged showing the strike itself.
Israel admits airstrike on Gaza hospital, says it targeted ‘key Hamas terrorist’
The Israeli military confirms hitting Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in an airstrike, saying it targeted a “key Hamas terrorist” using a precision bomb.
The IDF does not name the person it targeted in the hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, but unverified reports from Gaza and the Saudi al-Hadath channel claim it was Ismail Barhoum, a senior member of Hamas’s politburo.
In a joint statement with the Shin Bet, the IDF says the strike was carried out following “an extensive intelligence-gathering process.” It says a “precision munition” was used in order to mitigate harm to civilians.
Israel has long accused Hamas of using Gaza’s hospitals to hide personnel, weapons and command centers, but in the past, the IDF has carried out raids on such facilities with ground troops.
“The Hamas terrorist organization exploits civilian infrastructure while brutally endangering the Gazan population. The cynical use of an active hospital as a shelter for the planning and executing of murderous terrorist attacks is in direct violation of international law,” the statement reads.
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