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The Hamas Movement intensified rocket attacks on Israel on October 28, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) developed its ground operations in the Gaza Strip.
The military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, launched a salvo of rockets at the southern city of Dimona. The city is most known for the nearby Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, colloquially known as the Dimona Reactor.
Warning sirens were sounded at the city as well as in the nearby settlements of Ar’ara BaNegev, Abu Talul, Mamshit, Abu Qrenat and Qasr al-Sir. Several explosions are heard over the area, indicating rockets were intercepted or landed. However, no casualties were reported.
Later, a larger attack targeted the central city of Tel Aviv. Several impacts were reported in the nearby settlements of Kiryat Ono and Holon. The rocket fire caused some material damage, but there were no casualties.
Hamas fighters also shelled gatherings of the IDF at the sites of Miftaim, Erez and Sufa. There were also reports of rocket attacks on the settlements of Ashkelon and Beersheba near Gaza.
The increase in rocket attacks appears to be a response to the IDF ground operation in northern Gaza, which began a day earlier.
The IDF is reportedly preparing to develop the operation. Israeli fighter jets dropped leaflets warning residents of Gaza city that the area is now a “battlefield”.
“To the residents of the Gaza Strip: The Gaza governorate [Gaza city] has become a battlefield. Shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza governorate are not safe,” the IDF said in the leaflets, calling on all residents to “evacuate immediately” to the south.
Meanwhile, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi in a video statement said that to defeat Hamas and return the hostages the movement is holding, Israel must carry out a major ground offensive in Gaza.
“Three weeks have passed since the start of the war. This war has stages, and today we moved into a new phase,” Halevi said, referring to the ongoing, expanded ground operation in northern Gaza.
“Our forces are currently carrying out ground operations in the Gaza Strip… which serve to achieve all the war’s objectives: dismantling Hamas, security at the borders, and uppermost efforts to return all the hostages back home,” he said .
“The objectives of the war require ground entry. There are no achievements without risks, and there is no victory without prices being paid,” he continued.
“In order to expose the enemy and destroy it, there is no other way but to enter its territory with great force,” Halevi said, adding that the ground operations “serve all the objectives of the war.”
The IDF escalated strikes on Gaza after the start of the ground operation, targeting 150 underground targets of Hamas and killing two of its commanders.
Recent strikes also caused more civilian casualties. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said in its most recent update that the death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to 7,703. The fatalities included 3,595 children. More than 19,734 Palestinains have been wounded since the start of the war.
On the Israeli side, the death toll remains at 1,405. The casualties include 311 troops and 58 police officers. In addition, more than 5,000 Israelis have been wounded, so far. The official number of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 surprise attack remains at 229.
In an audio message, Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida demands that Israel release all Palestinian security prisoners in return for the Israeli hostages it is holding.
“The price to pay for the large number of enemy hostages in our hands is to empty the [Israeli] prisons of all Palestinian prisoners,” he said.
The IDF decision to escalate operations in Gaza could harm the hostages. It could also lead to more backlash against Israel. Protests against the war on the Strip were reported in several parts of the world on October 28. The British capital, London, and the Turkish city of Istanbul saw the largest protests.
Overall, fighting in Gaza will likely intensify in the coming days and weeks as the IDF advances deeper into the Strip. A temporary ceasefire and a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas remains highly unlikely, despite efforts by Qatar and other regional and international sides.
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waiting for hezbollah…
this ground assault will be a nightmare for idf troops. even patraeus said that it would be “mogadishu on steroids”. hamas succeeded in dragging the idf into an unwinnable war while stoking international outrage over the situation in gaza.
verifierad information : at least 5000 american special forces are in israel and engaged in war against hamas and the whole operation is under american command,