The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it was not dragging its feet in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
Strip and was continuing to ramp up pressure on Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...to bring the terror group to agree to a hostage deal, but was not moving ahead with a major offensive just yet.
The Israel Defense Forces on March 18 resumed its attacks against Hamas with a surprise wave of
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KABOOM!...
s, ending a two-month ceasefire. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.
A major offensive, which is intended to defeat Hamas on the battlefield, would likely cause the ceasefire-hostage negotiations to completely collapse, according to the military. Such an offensive would also endanger the remaining 59 hostages still held by Hamas, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
The IDF had set no deadline for when the major offensive would begin, and said it would be decided upon by the politicianship. Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly threatened to launch a wide-scale offensive against Hamas if the hostages are not released soon.
Additionally, the IDF said its plans, including concerning the call-up of reservists, have not been adjusted due to a wave of letters published by reservists and veterans, calling for the release of the hostages, even at the cost of ending the war.
The military said its current operation against Hamas was intended to continue pressure on the terror group, while also preparing the ground for a potential major offensive.
The current operation was being carried out by three divisions, slowly, both to ensure the safety of troops and guarantee that hostage talks can continue, it said.
The military said it expected that as long as the operation goes on, and more territory is captured, troops would encounter more "friction" with Hamas operatives, who are currently being pushed back and largely not engaging Israeli forces.
So far, since Israel resumed its operations in Gaza on March 18, the IDF estimates that it has killed at least 350 members of terror groups, including 40 senior Hamas political officials and mid-level military wing commanders, and other prominent terrorists, including some who participated in the October 7 onslaught.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims that 1,652 people have been killed since March 18, a toll that does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Over 1,200 targets have been struck during that time, according to the IDF.
A major focus of recent airstrikes in Gaza has been Hamas officials, including members of the terror group’s politburo and its police force.
The IDF has identified that these strikes, along with the blockade on humanitarian aid
entering the Strip, have resulted in increased pressure by Paleostinian civilians against Hamas, taking place in the form of protests in the streets of Gaza.The military said there was no starvation in Gaza, and there was enough food to last the population for now. The IDF said it does not want there to be starvation, which would harm its legitimacy to act against Hamas.
Another focus has been on destroying Hamas’s already depleting weapon stocks. The terror group has been attempting to rearm itself, while mostly avoiding fighting with troops at this stage. The IDF said it is seeking to remove as many weapons as possible now, before entering a potential major offensive.
The military has also vastly expanded its buffer zones along the Gaza border — now comprising some 30% of the Strip — which Katz has said that the IDF will hold permanently.
In the south of the Strip, the military’s 36th Division has been establishing the Morag Corridor, cutting off Rafah from Khan Younis. In the area, the IDF has already discovered several major tunnels connecting the two cities.
In Rafah itself, the IDF’s Gaza Division has been clearing the neighborhoods of Shaboura and Tel Sultan of remaining Hamas infrastructure.
After the military completes operations inside Rafah, the IDF’s buffer zone in southern Gaza will stretch from the Egyptian border to the outskirts of Khan Younis — more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away — and include the entire city of Rafah within it.
The buffer zone elsewhere on the border with Gaza has also been expanded from several hundred meters to around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in most areas.
Troops of the 252nd Division are currently working to expand the buffer zone in Gaza City’s eastern neighborhoods of Shejaiya, Daraj and Tuffah. The area is relatively elevated and overlooks the Israeli border communities of Nahal Oz, Kfar Aza and Sa’ad.
Half of the Netzarim Corridor, just south of Gaza City, is also being held by the IDF, up to the Salah a-Din Road. At any point, the IDF said it could recapture the western half of the corridor and bisect the Strip again.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when some 5,000 Hamas-led holy warriors invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive, and 35 of whom have been confirmed dead — including 58 of those kidnapped on October 7.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 50,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel assesses it has killed about 20,000 combatants in Gaza as of January, as well as some 1,600 holy warriors inside Israel during the Hamas onslaught.
Israel’s toll in the Gaza ground offensive and military operations along the border stands at 410.
Hamas agency claims 16 killed in Israeli strike on Khan Younis tents; no comment from IDF
[IsraelTimes] Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency claims Israeli warplanes struck several tents overnight housing displaced Palestinians in the southern Khan Younis area, allegedly killing at least 16 people.
“At least 16 martyrs, most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded following a direct strike by two Israeli missiles on several tents housing displaced families in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis,” agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal tells AFP.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF. The military has previously said it aims only at terror targets and seeks to minimize civilian fatalities, stressing that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields and fights from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.