The IDF has attacked about 250 targets of the organization Hamas over the past 24 hours, including dozens of operatives, missile launchers, and various infrastructures. During the night, the fire canopy of the Gaza Division directed a combat helicopter that destroyed a rocket launching station, which launched rockets into the Gush Dan (greater Tel Aviv area) on Sunday. The position was placed near a civilian population, and it constituted an extreme danger to Israeli lives.
Israeli forces continued a widespread military offensive Monday, targeting tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip and a sewage treatment plant. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas’ tunnel network, which it says was used for smuggling weapons and hostages into Israel. It has also targeted a power plant that pumps sewage into the sea, which it says is an essential source of energy for the Palestinian territory and a possible means for firing rockets at Israel.
As the army pressed its ground campaign, the Red Crescent, World Health Organisation, Medecins Sans Frontieres, and Unicef reported losing contact with their staff in Gaza. “The people of Gaza feel abandoned; they feel that the world is equating them all to Hamas,” said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency. “This is dangerous – an entire population is being dehumanized.”
The military said it had identified and targeted senior Hamas members involved in the kidnapping of two Israeli teenagers on October 7. It also attacked a media center run by an Islamist group, killing a leading jihadist commander. Those attacks were widely condemned around the world.
In Gaza City, armored vehicles advanced into the northern part of the city, drawing renewed calls for residents to evacuate. But many have stayed put, some fearing they will be homeless and others alarmed by Israeli aircraft that flew over their homes. “This is the war of our lives,” said Fadi, an 18-year-old who lives in a refugee camp on the city’s northern outskirts and declined to give his last name.
On Monday, Israel killed a senior commander in the small Salafi jihadist group Ajnad Beit al-Maqdis, which Israel blames for attacking an IDF patrol that resulted in the deaths of three soldiers and a civilian. The group also fired a rocket into Israel, which caused no injuries. Israel has vowed to continue its operation to destroy the group’s capabilities and “restore Israel’s security.” A video released by Hamas on Monday showed three female hostages, who were identified as Yelena Trupanob, Danielle Aloni, and Rimon Kirsht. It was the first such video to be released by the group since their arrest. It was accompanied by an angry message to Netanyahu. It urged the prime minister to take steps to free them and warned that if he does not do so, the group will release more videos of hostages. It also called on the prime minister to agree to a prisoner swap with Iran. Click here for more. • Noam Chomsky & others.
