Israel says it has killed 'dozens of terrorists' during 'fierce'
fighting 'deep' inside Gaza as soldiers scour streets for gunmen amid
raging battles in bid to free hostages from Hamas' tunnel network
Daily Mail
Oct 31, 2023
An Israeli tank is seen pushing through Gaza amid Israel's ground invasion on Tuesday
Israel today said it has killed 'dozens' of Hamas terrorists during
'fierce' fighting 'deep' inside Gaza with video showing soldiers
scouring the streets for the gunmen amid raging battles.
Israeli
troops attacked Hamas positions within the terrorists' vast tunnel
network in a bid to free hostages trapped there - a key objective for
Israel as it expands ground operations
inside Gaza to wipe out Hamas following its gun rampage three weeks ago
that killed over 1,400 people.
In
the fifth day of major ground operations inside northern Gaza, the army
said it had engaged in 'fierce battles' with Hamas terrorists, with
footage showing columns of tanks and soldiers advancing further into the
besieged enclave.
The IDF said its forces 'struck a Hamas
terrorist outpost' in the northern Gaza Strip in the last few hours
where they killed 'dozens' of gunmen and destroyed anti-tank missile
launch and observation posts.
Video
released by the IDF shows Israeli troops walking through the bombed out
streets of northern Gaza while raising their guns at the destroyed
buildings - ready to pounce at any movement of Hamas terrorists
potentially hiding within.
The army
said it had hit around 300 targets and confiscated 'numerous weapons'
such as guns and bombs as well as 'military compounds inside underground
tunnels' belonging to Hamas terrorists.
The
tunnels under the cramped enclave are a prime objective for
Israel. Some of the 240 hostages that Israel says were seized by Hamas
that day are believed to be held in the tunnel complex, adding a further
complication for the Israelis on top of the difficulties of fighting in
an urban setting.
Israeli soldiers are seen
marching through Gaza after Israel said its forces battled Hamas gunmen
inside the terrorists' vast tunnel network beneath Gaza
Israeli soldiers gather near the border with Gaza before entering the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday amid ongoing battles
Israeli troops are seen 'deep' within the territory of the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers raise their guns and fire at targets in Gaza
Israeli forces entered Gaza on tanks in the fourth night of major ground operations inside northern Gaza overnight
Israeli tanks are seen moving towards Gaza as part of their major ground operations
Palestinian children mourn
relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in front
of the morgue in Deir al Balah on Tuesday
A Palestinian man from
al-Badrasawi family carries the body of his child who was killed in
Israeli strikes, at Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in the central Gaza Strip
on Tuesday
In response, Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli forces
with machine gun fire and anti-tank missiles. 'The soldiers killed
terrorists and directed air forces to real-time strikes on targets and
terror infrastructure,' the IDF said.
And
Hamas terrorists launched nine Grad rockets at the southern city of
Ashdod today, leaving four people injured, one of whom is said to be
'very serious'. Video shows cars engulfed in flames, with black smoke
filling the air.
The fighting came
after Netanyahu on Monday evening slapped aside a call from 120
countries for a sustained humanitarian truce, saying such a ceasefire
would be 'surrendering' to Hamas.
'This
will not happen,' the premier said, vowing Israel would 'fight until
this battle is won'. 'Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to
surrender to Hamas,' he said.
Israel
launched the war on October 7 in retribution for Hamas-led raids on
Israeli homes, farms and villages that killed an estimated 1,400 people,
according to Israeli officials.
More
than three weeks of massive and sustained Israeli aerial bombardments
have been followed by a large-scale ground offensive inside Gaza.
The
al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, said militants also clashed
early on Tuesday with Israeli forces invading Gaza's south, hitting four
Israeli vehicles with missiles.
Militants
also fired at two Israeli tanks as well as bulldozers in northwest
Gaza, al-Qassam said. In Beit Hanoun, in the northeast, they
'liquidated' an Israeli unit which was ambushed as it entered a
building. MailOnline is not able to verify these claims.
On
Monday, witnesses said Israeli forces targeted Gaza's main north-south
road on Monday and attacked Gaza City from two directions. They said
they saw 'dozens' of Israeli tanks operating on the southern outskirts
of Gaza City.
Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military
spokesman, said ground operations are focused on northern Gaza,
including Gaza City, which he said was the 'centr of gravity of Hamas.'
'But
we also continue to strike in other parts of Gaza. We are hunting their
commanders, we are attacking their infrastructure, and whenever there
is an important target that is related to Hamas, we strike it,' he said.
Israel's
military also released images of mechanized units grinding through
coastal sands in northern Gaza. Video also shows soldiers walking across
an open area as heavy gunfire echoes in the background and setting up a
position in the ruins of a heavily damaged building.
They claimed an early victory: the rescue of one missing woman soldier from Hamas captivity.
The
release of Private Ori Megidish, 19, was 'secured during a ground
operation' inside Gaza the army said, adding she was now in Israel,
reunited with family and was 'doing well'.
'She
has provided intelligence that we'll be able to use for future
operations' said army spokesman Jonathan Conricus. 'We are committed and
determined to get all of the 238 hostages that are still inside Gaza,'
he added. The IDF has since increased the number of hostages to 240.
But the toll of Israel's war in Gaza has sparked a global backlash.
Conricus
said some 800,000 people have heeded the Israeli military's orders to
flee from the northern part of the strip to the south. But tens of
thousands of people remain in and around Gaza City, and casualties are
expected to mount on both sides as the battle moves into dense,
residential neighbourhoods.
According
to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, Israel's relentless bombing
campaign has killed 8,306 people, including 3,457 children, since
October 7.
Hamas
terrorists launched nine Grad rockets at the southern city of Ashdod
today, leaving four people injured, one of whom is said to be 'very
serious'. Video shows cars engulfed in flames, with black smoke filling
the air
Israeli troops are seen 'deep' within the territory of the Gaza Strip
An Israeli battle tank moves near a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Tuesday
Israeli soldiers gather near the border with Gaza before entering the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday
Israeli forces entered Gaza on tanks in the fourth night of major ground operations inside northern Gaza overnight
Israeli forces attacked Hamas targets inside Gaza on Monday, the IDF said
IDF forces travel in a military vehicle during their ground assault in Gaza
Pictured: Israeli soldiers amid their ground offensive in Gaza
An Israeli army soldier puts on
his helmet as he mans a turret in an armoured tracked vehicle is
deployed at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern
Israel on Tuesday
An Israeli army armoured tracked
vehicle moves near a stationed artillery howitzer at a position along
the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Tuesday
Injured relatives of the
Palestinians, who lost their lives after Israeli attacks, mourn as the
bodies are carried for burial from Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza on
Tuesday
People help burying the shrouded
bodies during the funeral of the members of Al-Ahcazi family, who lost
their lives after Israeli airstrikes on their building in Rafah, Gaza,
on Tuesday
Palestinians mourn relatives
killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in front of the
morgue in Deir al Balah, on Tuesday
Palestinians search for
casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee
camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday
An Israeli air force F-15 fighter jet is pictured flying over the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, on Tuesday
Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
A Palestinian man wounded in
Israeli strikes holds a body of a child killed in the strikes, at
Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday
People search through buildings
that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip
on Monday in Khan Yunis, Gaza
People search through buildings
that were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip
on Monday in Khan Yunis, Gaza
A youth walks on the rubble of a building following Israeli bombing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday
A flare over the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot, southern Israel, on Tuesday
The withering aerial bombardment has
obliterated homes and entire neighbourhoods, leaving the territory's 2.4
million residents have little access to water, food, fuel and other
essentials.
The mounting death toll has
drawn calls from the U.S., Israel's top ally, 120 governments and the
UN for a pause in fighting to allow more humanitarian aid to reach the
enclave.
'Nearly 70 percent of those
reported killed are children and women,' said Philippe Lazzarini, who
heads the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA. 'This cannot be
'collateral damage'.'
On Monday, the
UNRWA said the limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza was
insufficient to meet the 'unprecedented humanitarian needs' and civil
order has broken down with people storming UN warehouses in search of
food.
That has put four U.N. aid
distribution centres and a storage facility out of action, the United
Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday.
'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, reiterating
international calls for a ceasefire to enable a larger humanitarian
operation.
Hadas Kalderon, whose two
children Erez and Saha and their father Ofir have been kidnapped, while
Hadas' mother and niece were killed, cries in the burned-out remains of
her mother's home, following a deadly attack by Hamas gunmen from the
Gaza Strip on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Monday
Hadas Kalderon cries in the
burned-out remains of her mother's home, following a deadly attack by
Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip on Kibbutz Nir Oz on Monday
Palestinians look for survivors
in the rubble of a building following Israeli bombing in Rafah in the
southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday
Israeli soldiers aboard armoured
personnel carriers (APC) on patrol at a main road near the town of
Kiryat Shmona, near the Israel-Lebanon border in Israel on Tuesday
Israeli soldiers aboard armoured
personnel carriers (APC) on patrol at a main road near the town of
Kiryat Shmona, near the Israel-Lebanon border in Israel on Tuesday
Aid trucks have been trickling into Gaza
from Egypt over the past week via Rafah, the main crossing that does not
border Israel. It has become the main point of aid delivery since
Israel imposed a 'total siege' of Gaza after October 7.
Rizk
Abu Rok, a 24-year-old paramedic with the Palestinian Red Crescent,
told AFP that transporting those killed and wounded had become a daily
routine.
But a recent strike on the Rio Cafe in Khan Yunis added his father and several other relatives to the growing toll.
'I found them all, one after the other,' he said.
Israel
has accused Hamas of using hospitals as military headquarters and
civilians as 'human shields', charges dismissed by the militants as
'baseless' propaganda.
Even Israel's staunchest allies have voiced concern about the dire humanitarian situation inside the territory.
In Washington, the White House rejected a permanent ceasefire - warning it would only give Hamas time to restock and regroup.
But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said 'pauses' to allow aid into Gaza should be considered.
The United States has called for much more aid to enter Gaza from Egypt.
A woman cries near the bodies of
Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during their funeral, in Khan
Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday
People mourn as they collect the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli air raids on Tuesday in Khan Yunis
Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
Palestinians walk by the destruction after an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
Israel
said it is inspecting cargo to make sure weapons are not being smuggled
in, and is monitoring to guarantee supplies are not seized by Hamas.
It
comes as Hamas on Monday released a video it said showed three female
hostages who were abducted by the terrorists and taken into Gaza during
the October 7 attacks.
Sitting on
plastic chairs against a white tile wall, one of the women shouted as
she criticised Israel's response to the hostage crisis and for not
'guarding them' from the terrorists.
The woman urged Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a prisoner exchange for the release of all captives in her brief statement, which was likely made under duress.
Speaking
in Hebrew, she becomes very agitated and starts shouting, almost
screaming by the end, as the other two sitting either side of her remain
silent.
In response,
Netanyahu condemned the video as 'cruel psychological propaganda' and
told the female hostages 'our heart is with you'.
The Israeli Prime
Minister named the three female hostages as Yelena Trupanob, Daniel
Aloni and Rimon Kirsht, and vowed 'to bring all the abducted and missing
people home'.
The Israeli military
confirmed on Sunday that 239 hostages - aged between a few months and 80
years old - are thought to have been taken during the attack on
southern Israel on October 7.
Israel
has since launched an intense bombardment of Gaza, prompting fears for
the safety of the hostages, many of whom are thought to be being held in
Hamas' tunnel network.
Relatives
concerned about Israel's escalating attacks in Gaza demanded to know the
government's plans for the rescue of their loved ones in a tense
meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday.
And
facing growing domestic pressure over the detainees, Defence Minister
Yoav Gallant on Sunday accused the terrorists of playing 'psychological
games' over the hostages' fate.
