IDF captures key areas around Gaza City's fortified center; Air Force strikes 170 targets in 24 hours

After completing the encirclement of Gaza City earlier this week, Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday that the troops continue to deepen their operations in the area.

Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck over 170 targets across the Gaza Strip, including terrorists, military structures, weapons storage facilities and infrastructure sites, the IDF reported.

Two Israeli soldiers fell in combat over the past days. Maj. Shahar Netanel Bozaglo, from Migdal HaEmek, was killed in battle on Tuesday. The next day, a soldier was severely injured, and on Thursday, Staff Sgt. Chalachew Shimon Demalash, from Beersheva, was killed.

Over the past week, the IDF reportedly completed the takeover of key areas around Gaza City. Israeli security officials described the core of the city – commanded by Hamas' last senior commander, Izz al-Din al-Haddad – as a fortified area built in several layers, according to Walla News.

Al-Haddad reportedly commands some 2,500 skilled fighters and several thousand additional recruits as young as 15 years, with most being recruited in recent months.

The terrorists prepared zones with explosive devices intended to hamper the troops’ movements; anti-tank ambushes and observation points in densely packed buildings and ruins; and underground networks allowing them to move in secret to emerge with enough time to fire anti-tank weapons or plant explosives before a quick retreat.

They added that face-to-face combat is expected to intensify as Israeli forces gradually advance toward the city center.

According to Walla News, citing sources in the IDF’s Southern Command, some 700,000 civilians have left the city as of now.

“Hamas is currently in a state of confusion,” a military source told the Israeli newspaper Maariv. “It doesn’t know where the IDF is striking from and has no clear sense of the scale of forces we’re using against them.”

He added that there has been a “limited movement of terrorists and the number of clashes is not large. They probably prefer to dig in and preserve their strength.”

On Wednesday, the IDF announced that its troops, once again, came under “significant live fire” from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

“The use of a civilian structure, and particularly an active hospital, is further proof of Hamas' cynical and systematic modus operandi of exploiting civilian infrastructure as manned terror command posts. By doing so, Hamas knowingly endangers the lives of patients, medical staff and innocent civilians in the Strip.”

Meanwhile, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir met with senior commanders for a situation assessment in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

In his remarks, Zamir reiterated that the IDF is focused “on striking Gaza City to create conditions for the release of the hostages and for Hamas' decisive defeat. The IDF strikes powerfully and precisely – all of its capabilities are at the disposal of the troops. We will continue a systematic and thorough advance, while ensuring compliance with all security rules.”

Noting that most of the civilian population had already evacuated, he urged Gazans: “Rise up and break away from Hamas – it is responsible for your suffering. The war and the suffering will end if Hamas releases the hostages and relinquishes its weapons.”

Zamir also highlighted the sacrifice made by Major Bozaglo, who “left his home on October 7, took command of a tank and fought in the communities near the Gaza Strip. From then until his death, he fought bravely and with dedication for the security of the Israeli communities in the south and the entire State of Israel.”

“This is a war in which the IDF, our troops – you – are the line of defense for Israeli civilians and the Jewish people, but also for humanity and the free world, against terror, oppression and brutality.”