Israel Army Surrounds Gaza City As World Pressure Mounts For Ceasefire (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s army said Thursday that it has effectively surrounded Gaza City and that it killed “over 130 terrorists” in its ongoing ground operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Yet Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, acknowledged that his troops face stiff resistance as the reported death toll among Israeli forces killed in Gaza climbed to 18 on Thursday.
Israel’s army said that among its latest causalities was a 33-year-old lieutenant colonel who died “while fighting in Gaza,” while hundreds of Israeli troops have been killed outside the Palestinian enclave since October 7.
Halevi confirmed that forces in and around Gaza City “are fighting in a built-up arena, which is crowded, complex and requires professional fighting and a lot of bravery.”
He said that “Israeli forces are operating in recent days in Gaza City,” a Hamas stronghold, “encircling it from a number of directions, deepening their entry and achievements.”
In remarks monitored by Worthy News, he noticed, “We are in the middle of the war and have made another significant move forward. Our forces are in the heart of the ground battle in the north.”
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) also said that soldiers “were engaged in close-quarters combat” with Hamas fighters staging hit-and-run attacks from tunnels.
TARGETING TUNNELS
However, in separate remarks, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military has “unique solutions” to demolish Hamas’s vast network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip.
“We have unique solutions to reach all the tunnels and dismantle them underground; we are ready to do it,” Gallant told troops of the army’s elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.
“We will reach everywhere, and then the terrorists will have two options: either die in the tunnel or come out. And there, either die from the fire of our forces or surrender unconditionally,” he told the soldiers.
“There is no third option; those are the only options, and that’s how we operate,” he added in remarks shared with Israeli media.
Yet the Hamas-run health ministry claimed Thursday that 9,000 people died in Gaza since Israel’s army launched its actions on October 7 after Hamas killed 1,400 people in Israel.
The IDF said it tried to avoid targeting civilians but added Thursday that over “130 terrorists” were killed in their ground operations in Gaza.
Israeli forces also took out “terror infrastructure” in Gaza and destroyed “many weapons caches” alongside Hamas operating bases, the IDF explained. “IDF fighters continue to wage fierce battles against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF added.
CEASEFIRE PRESSURE
However, international pressure was mounting on Israel on Thursday to agree to a ceasefire to allow more humanitarian aid into the territory.
The United Nations said four schools-turned-shelters in the Gaza Strip were damaged over the past 24 hours, killing many. The U.N.’s agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, told media that 20 people reportedly died at a school in the Jabalia refugee camp.
Schools at the Beach refugee camp and the Al Bureij camp were also damaged, with three reported deaths, according to officials familiar with the situation.
Israel has carried out thousands of strikes on Gaza. The U.N. did not attribute blame for the damaged schools but repeated calls called for a ceasefire.
However, a ceasefire with Hamas is not on the table, the IDF said ahead of Friday’s trip to Israel by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Earlier, the White House stressed it was exploring the idea of “pauses” in the Israel-Hamas war to help civilians in Gaza and is “working” with Israel to minimize casualties.
“What we’re trying to do is explore the idea of as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages,” said national security spokesperson John Kirby.
FRENCH HELICOPTERS
Amid mounting suffering in the territory, France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said a second French aid helicopter would be sent off the coast of Gaza.
He told the media that France would work with Israel and Egypt to find a way to provide medical assistance to people affected by the bombings in Gaza.
Lecornu spoke to France Info radio on Thursday in Lebanon, where he visited the French unit of the United Nations mission in the country.
He said messages had been passed to both Hezbollah and Israel urging them not to do anything that would make it impossible for the mission to carry out its mandate.
Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas, prompting a military response from Israel.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported on Thursday that the U.S. has intelligence that Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group “may provide an air defense system to Hezbollah,” raising fears the Israel-Hamas war is rapidly turning into a broader armed conflict.
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.