Israeli troops captured terrorists who
tried to hide among civilians being evacuated from combat zones in
western Khan Yunis, the military said on Sunday morning.
Also over the past 24 hours in the former
Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza, Israeli forces killed several
terrorists and confiscated weapons.
After the months-long battle finishes in Khan Yunis, Israeli forces are expected to head to the southernmost city in the Strip, Rafah on the Egyptian border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
described Rafah as the “last Hamas bastion” where the war will be won,
containing the terrorist group’s final four battalions.
Netanyahu was set on Sunday to present
plans for the IDF attack in Rafah, amid mounting international pressure
for an immediate ceasefire.
“I will convene the Cabinet to approve the
operational plans for action in Rafah, including the evacuation of the
civilian population,” the prime minister tweeted.
“Only a combination of military pressure
and firm negotiations will lead to the release of our hostages, the
elimination of Hamas and the achievement of all the war’s objectives,”
he added.
Meanwhile, several terrorists were killed in the central Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours and in the Zeitoun
neighborhood of Gaza City in the north, where a nearly weeklong ground
and aerial operation to clear out terrorists from the district has been
taking place ahead of a pilot program intended to empower local leaders
to replace the Hamas terrorist group in governing Gaza.
Additionally, Israeli forces located
weapons and destroyed rocket-launching zones in the area. Furthermore,
the Israeli Air Force destroyed several rocket launch posts in strikes
throughout the Gaza Strip aimed at Hamas’s aerial unit.
The IDF named three soldiers killed in action over the past 24 hours, bringing the military’s death toll to 240 since the start of the Gaza ground invasion on Oct. 27 and to 579 on all fronts since the start of the war on Oct. 7.
Maj. Eyal Shuminov, 24, from Karmiel, was
killed in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, and Staff Sgt. Nerya
Belete, 21, from Shavei Shomron, fell in battle in the southern Gaza
Strip on Saturday. Shuminov’s death was announced on Saturday, while
Belete’s death was stated on Sunday morning.
Later on Sunday, the IDF announced that Sgt. Ido Eli Zarihan, 20, from
Jerusalem, fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
Kidnapped soldier confirmed murdered
The IDF on Sunday afternoon confirmed that
Sgt. Oz Daniel, a 19-year-old from Kfar Saba who was kidnapped to Gaza
during the Hamas-led invasion of Oct. 7, was murdered on that day and
his body stolen.
His funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at the Kfar Saba Military Cemetery.
“I am forced to announce with great and
heavy sorrow that a few minutes ago I left the home of the Daniel family
where the news of the murder of Oz was given to them by the IDF
authorities,” the mayor of Kfar Saba said in a statement.
He continued, “One hundred forty-one days
have passed since the Black Saturday of October 7 and we all wished we
would have good news which unfortunately did not come. Oz was an amazing
kid, always with the guitar and the captivating smile. On behalf of the
residents of Kfar Saba, I wish to express our condolences.”
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