Khan Younis is the largest city in southern Gaza, days after Israel expanded its ground offensive beyond the north
The Israeli army announced at noon on Tuesday that his forces had arrived in the “heart”, in the center of Han Yunis, of the largest city in southern Gaza, days after Israel expanded its ground offensive beyond northern Gaza.
Israeli officials say much of the Hamas leadership may be hiding in Khan Younis, and that it is a Hamas stronghold.
Lt. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of the Southern Command, even reported, according to the Times of Israel, that Israeli forces are engaged in the heaviest fighting they have seen since the ground invasion began a month ago.
“We are in the heart of Jambaliya, in the heart of Sejaya and as of this afternoon, also in the heart of Khan Yunis,’ Finkelman said in a statement distributed by the Israel Defense Forces, referring to the Hamas strongholds.
“This is the fiercest day [των μαχών] from the start of the maneuver [χερσαίου], in terms of terrorists killed, the number of engagements and the use of ground and air fire,” he adds. “We plan to continue the attacks to deepen the achievements.”
The IDF said troops managed to storm a number of Hamas positions in Jambaliya and Sejaya, removing weapons caches and “terrorist infrastructure both above and below ground.”
“In the past day, the infantry, armor, engineers and air forces cooperated to fight the terrorists face to face and many terrorists were killed,” the army statement said.
Some weapons were found in civilian structures, noted the military.
Israel earlier said it had surrounded the refugee Jabaliya camp in the north, the largest in Gaza, with the Israeli military claiming it was used by Hamas as a base. The United Nations for its part warned for a “hell scenario” in Gaza. Unicef says there are no ‘safe zones’ nowhere in Gaza, while the World Health Organization warns that the situation getting worse with each passing hour.
In total 80 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive launched by the IDF in the Gaza Strip with the aim of “eliminating Hamas”, the press service of the Israeli army told AFP on Tuesday.
Source :Skai
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