The Israel Defence Forces have announced that about 100 jets struck about 150 underground Hamas targets in Gaza Friday night.
“The forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war,” said an IDF spokesperson, R Adm Daniel Hagari.
According to The Guardian, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum called for an urgent meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and members of the war cabinet due to the intensification of the fighting.
“This night was the worst of all nights. Anxiety, frustration, and especially enormous anger that no one from the war cabinet bothered to meet with the families of the abductees to explain to them one thing – whether the ground operation endangers the safety of the 229 abductees in Gaza,” the group said in a statement.
On X, formerly Twitter, the IDF released footage of multiple tanks crossing a sandy area of Gaza, firing off into structured areas in the distance.
Per The Jerusalem Post, IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari shared a video highlighting how Hamas uses the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a command and control center. The video revealed a network of passageways and chambers under the hospital and other civilian buildings.
“Hamas also has an entrance to its terror tunnels from inside hospital wards. From different places inside the hospital, you can enter underground tunnels,” Hagari said.
“Right now, terrorists move freely in Al-Shifa hospital,” he continued. “Hundreds [of terrorists] fled to the hospital to hide after the massacre on October 7.”
“Hamas wages war from hospitals,” he warned, adding that this “not only endangers the lives of Israelis but exploits innocent Gazan civilians as human shields.”
He also shared a recorded conversation between two anonymous individuals, during which Speaker B asked: “Where are the main headquarters of Al-Qasam Brigades?” In response, speaker A says, “Under the compound Al-Shifa. Yes, the leadership headquarters are under the Al-Shifa compound. Bathrooms, rooms, headquarters.”
On Saturday, Hagari shared another recording in which there were two interrogations of terrorists captured on October 7, the same day the group launched its attack on Israel. In the video, one of the Hamas terrorists explains that there are tunnels and operation rooms under hospitals, including the Al-Shifa Hospital.
“Al-Shifa Hospital is huge, and so we can hide there,” the terrorist says, adding that the group will take cover in schools, hospitals, and other locations amid Israeli strikes.
When asked whether the group exploits places that provide medical care, such as hospitals and clinics, the terrorists answered in the affirmative. He added that the locations also serve as secure locations for the transportation of location, weapons and other goods for its members.
The Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7 resulted in the death of 1,400 civilians and wounding hundreds. According to BBC News, over 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed due to retaliatory Israeli airstrikes as of Saturday.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Dan Kitwood / Staff
Video Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal via YouTube
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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