‘Localized raids’ of infantry and tanks: Hamas men killed, hostages sought
Israel’s blitz in Gaza for “localized raids”. It is not yet the ground attack, but it is the dress rehearsal of the offensive that aims to hit Hamas in the Strip. Israel has ordered the evacuation of Gaza City: 1.1 million civilians, according to the communication, should move south in a few hours.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered the Gaza Strip with infantry troops and tanks to conduct “localized raids” aimed at clearing the area of terrorists and identifying the whereabouts of the hostages, writes the Times of Israel , specifying that the troops have collected various material ”which could help in the effort to locate the missing”. The IDF also claims that ”a number of terrorists in the area” were killed in the incursion, including a Hamas cell that had fired anti-tank missiles at Israel.
Israel announces targeted raids
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari later confirmed the “targeted raids”. The armored and infantry forces, he explained, carried out searches and ”blocked teams of anti-tank guided missiles that intended to infiltrate Israeli territory”. Regarding the hostages, Hagari promised that “we will continue to make every effort to find useful information on the missing and the hostages”. It is estimated that Hamas, after the attack on Saturday 7 October, kidnapped 150-200 people. The Israeli military contacted the families of 120 hostages to provide information regarding their relatives’ conditions. There is no certainty about the fate of the remaining people.
Hamas, meanwhile, claims that 70 people were killed in Israeli-led attacks as they headed south from the northern Gaza Strip. “We say to the people of northern Gaza and Gaza City: Stay in your homes,” Eyad al-Bozom, spokesman for Hamas’ Interior Ministry, told a news conference.
Source-www.adnkronos.com