IDF pushes deeper into Gaza City, targeting Hamas stronghold

The Israel Defense Forces is advancing into Gaza City, targeting Hamas’s main stronghold, with troops engaged in combat against terrorists both above and below ground, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said on Sunday.

“Hamas has shown the world its true strategy: to exploit its own people and prolong this war,” said Defrin.

“Our forces are working day and night, turning over every stone, to bring our hostages home, dismantle Hamas’s terror networks, and secure a safer region for all,” he added.

Over the past week, Hamas had demonstrated its tactics by firing on a U.N. team, using stolen United Nations vehicles to obstruct the building of a new road for aid deliveries and robbing four UNICEF trucks at gunpoint, depriving thousands of infants of baby formula, said Defrin.

Hamas continues to block civilians from leaving combat zones, choosing to sacrifice Gaza’s residents rather than protecting them, he added.

The IDF has carried out a wide-scale operation to warn civilians and move them away from the fighting, using tools such as voice messages, leaflet drops, text messages and phone calls.

The military said it concurrently designated a humanitarian area in Khan Yunis and was working to expand related infrastructure in southern Gaza, including field hospitals, water pipelines, desalination facilities and the continued delivery of food, tents, medicine and medical equipment.

Defrin noted that tons of supplies were waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing for collection by the United Nations and other international organizations, calling on them to deliver the aid directly to Gazans.

“Israel is ensuring civilians can keep out of harm’s way, enabling access to food, shelter and medicine,” said Defrin.

According to the IDF, more than 550,000 civilians have so far evacuated south from Gaza City, while the 162nd, 98th and 36th divisions have begun operating in Hamas strongholds.

“As the Jewish New Year arrives, forty-eight hostages remain in the grip of Hamas,” continued Defrin. “Their captivity is an unfinished chapter of this war—and we will not close it until they are home. We have no other choice.”