The IDF said Thursday it has already begun operations inside Gaza City ahead of a planned large-scale ground maneuver, claiming control over 40% of the city and warning that the offensive will expand in the coming days.
IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters that Israeli forces have been operating for weeks in the Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods of Gaza City as part of Operation Gideon's Chariots II, aimed at seizing the entire city. “The operation will expand in the coming days,” he said.
Drone footage of the assassination of Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obaida
(Video: IDF)
Defrin also confirmed the killing of Abu Obaida, the masked spokesman of Hamas’s military wing who became a widely recognized figure in the Arab world and led much of the terrorist group’s psychological warfare. Displaying a photo of Abu Obaida alongside former Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif and other senior commanders, Defrin singled out intelligence chief Mohammed Ouda. “He is still alive — and we will get to him,” he said.
Asked about reported disagreements between military leaders and Israel’s political echelon over the Gaza campaign, Defrin said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir backs the plan to capture the city. He clarified that Zamir had not advocated military rule in Gaza but warned it would be the default if no alternative governance emerges.
Defrin also linked the Gaza operations to last week’s Israeli strike in Yemen that killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahwi and about 10 ministers. He said the fate of the Houthis’ chief of staff and defense minister remains unclear. “None of the leaders of terror organizations in the Middle East will be immune,” he warned.
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Abu Obaida (second from left) alongisde former Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif (left), Khan Younis Brigade Commander Rafa Salama and intelligence chief Mohammed Ouda
(Photo: IDF)
Meanwhile, Israel continues to intercept missiles and drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis following the strike in Sanaa. On Thursday morning, a Houthi missile fell outside Israel’s territory, and two drones were intercepted without triggering alarms. A day earlier, Israel shot down two ballistic missiles, including one armed with cluster munitions, the military said.
As preparations for the next phase of the Gaza operation intensified, Chief of Staff Zamir toured the enclave Wednesday, saying Israeli forces “already control the approaches to the city.” He observed the urban battlefield and reviewed operational plans. “We are intensifying the fighting in Gaza and deepening the blows against Hamas,” Halevi said, noting that the army had begun a major call-up of reservists to sustain the campaign.