Illustrative image.
On October 25, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that its naval forces had foiled an attempt by the Hamas Movement to send divers to infiltrate into Israel by the sea.
In a statement released a day earlier, Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced that some of its divers infiltrated by the sea and entered the settlement of Zikim, to the north of the Gaza Strip, where it clashed with Israeli troops.
The IDF said that two of Hamas divers were killed by the Navy, despite earlier unverified reports by Hebrew media suggesting higher numbers.
Video footage released by the IDF showed speed boats opening fire at divers in the sea as well as an airstrike on the compound from which the Hamas divers set out and another that targeted a weapons storage site belonging to the movement’s naval forces.
Hamas launched more attacks on October 25. An R160 heavy rocket was fired at the northern Israeli city of Haifa. The IDF said that the rocket exploded mid-air. No casualties or material losses were reported.
An even heavier Ayyash250 rocket was fired by Hamas from Gaza at the southern Israeli port city of Eilat. The IDF said that the rocket landed in an open area, causing no casualties or damage. According to the military, no sirens sounded in towns, but an alert was activated in an open area on the Home Front Command mobile application “according to protocol.”
Hamas also fired three salvos of rockets at Re’im base and shelled a gathering of the IDF near the settlement of Nahal Oz with mortars.
In addition, a Mutbar anti-aircraft rocket was fired at an IDF drone that was operating over Gaza. The drone was not hit, however.
Hamas launched its recent attacks amid heavy Israeli bombardment. The IDF said that it had carried out dozens of strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight, including against Hamas tunnels, command centers, weapons storage sites and mortar and anti-tank missile launch sites.
The IDF strikes also targeted war rooms, infrastructure and command centers belonging to Hamas’s so-called emergency operational apparatus.
One of the strikes killed the commander of Hamas’s North Khan Younis Battalion, Taysir Mubasher, according to the IDF. Mubasher previously served as head of Hamas’s naval forces, and also held several positions related to the movement’s weapon manufacturing.
“Mubasher has extensive experience in the military and as a commander, directing terror attacks, and he is considered close to Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing,” the IDF says in a joint statement with the Shin Bet security agency.
In its latest update, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that at least 6,546 people have been killed and more than 17,439 others have been wounded in Israeli strikes since the war broke out on October 7, including 756 in the last 24 hours. At least 2,704 children were among the dead.
On the Israeli side, the death toll remains at 1,405. The casualties include 308 troops and 58 police officers. In addition, at least 5,431 Israelis have been wounded, so far. According to the IDF, 218 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza.
Israel is yet to launch its highly-touted ground offensive into Gaza. According to The Wall Street Journal, Israel has, temporarily, consented to a United State request to delay the invasion.
This is to allow the U.S. Military to rush missile defense systems in the region, including for U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to protect them from missiles and rockets as we’ve seen over the past few days. This delay is expected to last till next week, however the invasion still looks inevitable.
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útoky na okupantov z usa sa už mali valiť v plnom prúde. okupantov treba buď to vyhnať, alebo zničiť. svetu mier!!!
iran will have no option but to stop this genocide. with hezbollah, syria, iraq and iran focused on the evil of the anglozionazis how long more will obsolete ussan rust tubs sit off the coast of palestine before they are visited by hypersonic missiles? the destruction of the evil khazar squatters also benefits the tax cattle slaves on rancho goyim ussa, the majority of whom despise the zionazis more than they do muslims.