Israel attacks Hamas, destroys targets inside Gaza’s vast tunnel network

Israel attacked Hamas gunmen and destroyed hundreds of targets inside the terrorists’s vast tunnel network as the IDF continues its advance in northern Gaza. 

“Over the last day, combined IDF combat forces struck approximately 300 targets, including anti-tank missile and rocket launch posts below shafts, as well as military compounds inside underground tunnels belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization,” the IDF said in a statement. 

Although Hamas responded with anti-tank missiles and machine gunfire, the IDF said its “soldiers killed terrorists and directed air forces to real-time strikes on targets and terror infrastructure.”

The IDF also released new images of its soldiers and tanks operating in Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire over concerns of a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

Several images show Israeli units walking through an empty town of rubble and nearly collapsing buildings, while another shows dozens of tanks driving through a barren field. 

Other photos depict the IDF soldiers engaging in a shootout, with another picture showing the soldiers marching in a haze as a fire burns in the distance. 

Hamas’ armed wing confirmed that its fighters fought with IDF forces early Tuesday, saying they fired at the Jewish soldiers with machine guns and anti-tank missiles. 

Further details of the fighting and how many died on Tuesday could not be independently confirmed.  

The latest fighting in northern Gaza comes after the IDF said it took out 600 Hamas targets in recent days, including dozens of terrorists on Monday inside buildings and tunnels. 

Hamas operates within and hides beneath the largest hospital in Gaza. Their priorities are clear—and the people of Gaza are not among them. pic.twitter.com/7M4ZqjFyYs

The Israeli military said the destruction of Gaza’s 300-mile tunnel network was a key objective to eradicating Hamas ahead of an expected full-force ground invasion.   

The IDF has recently claimed that Hamas has entries and exits to the terror tunnels beneath Gaza’s main medical center, the al-Shifa hospital. 

“Hamas has turned hospitals into command and control centers and hideouts for Hamas terrorists and commanders,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s chief military spokesman, said at a news conference last week. 

While the IDF presented photos and diagrams to try and prove its claim, Hamas has denied the tactic and condemned recent Israeli airstrikes near its two largest hospitals, which also serve as shelters for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians. 

Gaza health authorities say that 8,306 people, including 3,457 minors, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in the Jewish State on Oct. 7.

The total death count so far stands as an unprecedented loss of life in the history of violence between Israel and Palestine.

Israel has vowed to continue its attacks in northern Gaza, with government officials touting the use of force as a means to “pressure” Hamas into releasing the estimated 239 hostages taken on Oct. 7. 

Hamas has called for a ceasefire in exchange for the kidnapped, claiming that more than 50 hostages have been killed by Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza since the war began.

The terrorist organization has provided no evidence of the deaths, and Netanyahu reiterated Monday night that there would be no cease-fire. 

“Calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen,” Netanyahu said. 

Along with a relentless airstrike campaign, Israel strengthened its blockade around the Palestinian enclave, which humanitarian officials condemned as supplies continue to run dry for more than the 2 million people living in Gaza.  

“At the time of writing, no water is provided to Gaza from Israel,” The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said on Monday.

The lack of supplies have also caused civil unrest, with people storming UN warehouses in search of food and basic hygiene supplies. 

The raids have ultimately shut down four UN aid distribution centers, with officials noting that fuel is running out to power Gaza’s hospitals, water pumps and bakeries. 

“It’s a disaster on top of a disaster. Health needs are soaring and our ability to meet those needs is rapidly declining,” World Health Organization regional emergencies chief Rick Brennan said.