Click to see full-size image. Source: the Israeli Defense Forces.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on November 4 that its troops continued ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip overnight.
In a statement, the IDF said that infantry and armored forces led by the 460th “Bnei Or” Brigade encountered numerous attempts by fighters from the Hamas Movement to launch attacks from tunnels. However, the troops killed several fighters and located tunnels.
In one encounter, the troops fought off a group of 15 Hamas fighters, killing several of them and shelling their observation posts, according to the IDF.
Separately, the IDF announced that it had carried out a “targeted raid” in southern Gaza. The limited operation was carried out by combat engineering forces and tanks led by the Gaza Division to map out buildings and to clear the area of planted explosive devices.
The troops encountered a Hamas cell that came out of a tunnel during the operation, the IDF said, adding that the cell was shelled and eliminated.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit Gaza overnight. Three massacres were reported with dozens killed or wounded after strikes targeted ambulances near the al-Shifa Hospital, the vicinity of the Indonesian hospital and a school housing refugees in the al-Saftawi areas in the northern part of the Strip.
From its side, the IDF said that it had struck a number of Hamas targets, including anti-tank missile squads, command centers and infrastructure.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, didn’t report any attacks against the IDF overnight. However, this was likely the result of communication difficulties as heavy clashes were reported in northern Gaza and Israeli troops didn’t advance much.
Video footage released late on November 3 showed a fierce attack by Hamas fighters against an IDF armored force in the village of Juhor al-Dik.
The current objective of the IDF is to link its advancing troops along the beach with the units that encircled Gaza city from the south. Once this task is completed, Israeli troops will likely begin to storm Gaza City. The battle in the highly-dense city will likely cause a humanitarian catastrophe as thousands of civilians are still trapped there and the IDF will not evacuate them or allow anyone to do so.
