Click to see full-size image. Source: the Israeli Defense Forces.
Clashes heated up in and around Gaza City on November 12 morning, with Israeli troops closing in on Shifa Hospital, where Israel claims the main military command center of the Hamas Movement is located.
Palestinian health officials said that thousands of medics, patients and displaced people were still trapped in the area surrounding al-Shifa, with no electricity and dwindling supplies. Heavy cashes and strikes were reported close to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that a “significant” number of troops continue to fight in Gaza City’s al-Shati camp.
The IDF said that in one incident, troops identified a group of Hamas fighters holed up in a building in al-Shati, and directed a fighter jet to strike them.
Meanwhile, another fighter jet struck a Hamas weapons depot in a building in the camp, after a missile was fired from it, the IDF added.
In an incident last night, the 933rd “Nahal” Brigade troops operating near al-Shati identified four Hamas fighters close to them, and directed a drone to strike them, the IDF said, adding that the drone hit three of the fighters, before chasing down the fourth and killing him as well.
From its side, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that its fighters destroyed three main battle tanks of the IDF in the southwestern outskirts of Gaza City and an armored personnel carrier in the city’s northwestern outskirts with rocket-propelled grenades during morning clashes.
Separately, the fighters targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the area of Khuza’a, to the east of Khan Yunis city in southern Gaza, with an explosive device.
The IDF is apparently planning to push deeper into Gaza City in coming hours as it has announced that humanitarian pauses in the northern Gaza Strip will continue during the day to enable Palestinians to evacuate south.
Despite making some gains in Gaza City the last two days, the IDF suffered some serious losses in manpower and equipment. It also failed to take over all of al-Shati camp. Israeli troops are also struggling to advance in the direction of Beit Hannon city.
