The Israeli defence force spokesperson, Lt Col Richard Hecht said on Monday that the Israeli military is operating inside Gaza to ensure the safe release of the 239 Israeli hostages and is combining all three modes of land, air and naval forces in the war.
"The IDF's operations against Hamas in Gaza continue. We are combining land, air and naval forces with accurate intelligence. The IDF countered Hamas's attacks, contained them, and now we're closing in on them. We are currently operating in the Shati area in northern Gaza. Let me be clear our war is with Hamas. It is not with the people of Gaza. For the past few weeks, we have repeatedly told the people of Shati to leave the area," he said.
He also shared that Israel has also asked the people of the Shati area in Gaza to vacate the area and for that, millions of text messages and leaflets were sent and dropped in the region.
He added, "We have sent millions of text messages, dropped leaflets and sent messages through the media again and again. The state is a key Hamas stronghold for IDF intelligence. We know that the area is teeming with terrorists, that Hamas is embedded in civilian buildings, and that there is a wide underground network of tunnels."
Israeli spokesperson claimed that Hamas has built a dedicated city under the Shati area for terrorism and that the fighting in that region would be "intense".
He added, "There is an entire city under Shati, one dedicated to terrorism. The fighting will be intense in this complex urban warfare. But it is necessary to protect the people of Israel to ensure that the massacre of October 7th can never be repeated. To bring the hostages home."
Meanwhile, on Monday, the IDF also continued its local tactical pause for Gazan civilians to evacuate through the Rafah crossing.
IDF said, "Today in Rafah, during the hours of 10:00-14:00, the IDF put in place a local tactical pause for Gazan civilians to evacuate. Since Nov. 8, these tactical pauses have been upheld to allow civilians to evacuate southward. We continue to reiterate to all those involved; we are at war with Hamas, not the people of Gaza."
The Israel Defence Force troops killed 21 members of a terror cell that opened fire at Israeli forces from Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, The Times of Israel reported on Monday.
According to the IDF, the cell had opened fire at troops of the 188th Armoured Brigade with light arms and RPGs, while being "embedded within a group of civilians at the entrance of the hospital."
The IDF said troops, with air support, returned fire at the Hamas operatives, killing 21 of them. No troops were hurt but one tank was damaged by an RPG.
The Times of Israel reported, quoting the IDF, that amid the exchange of fire, civilians were seen leaving the hospital, and other operatives came out of adjacent buildings and hid among them to attack the Israeli forces.
After firing RPGs at troops, the IDF says the operatives fled back into the hospital.
"This incident is another example of Hamas's continued abuse of civilian structures, including hospitals, to carry out attacks," the IDF adds in a statement. (ANI)
