The Israeli military conducted airstrikes, ground operations, and naval attacks in the Gaza Strip overnight until Saturday. Air-raid sirens sounded in Israeli communities near Gaza, warning of incoming rocket fire.
During Israel’s recent offensive in the south, the military stated that much of the close-quarters combat in its ground assault was taking place in Shajaiye, a neighborhood in northern Gaza that the Israeli military has labeled as a “terrorist hotbed.”
According to the Israeli military, they identified several fighters armed with anti-tank missiles approaching ground troops in the neighborhood and launched a helicopter strike. They also claimed to have located and targeted a tunnel shaft that was part of an extensive underground route in Shajaiye, as well as another tunnel shaft with an elevator and numerous weapons. However, these claims could not be independently verified.
Israel’s ground invasion, which began in late October in northern Gaza, has advanced southward over the past week, resulting in intense fighting throughout the enclave. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled from northern Gaza to the south, leaving limited safe places for Gazans.
The Israeli military estimates that approximately 150,000 civilians remain in northern Gaza. The Biden administration has recently urged Israel to do more to minimize harm to civilians, but some experts believe that there is no evidence of the military modifying its tactics.
The Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, reported that the Al Aqsa hospital in northern Gaza received the bodies of 71 individuals who were killed and treated 160 others who were wounded in the past 24 hours. Gaza health officials state that over 15,000 individuals have been killed since the war’s inception, with approximately 6,000 others missing.
The Israeli military also claimed to have engaged with fighters “in the area of a school” in Shajaiye, where they discovered AK-47 rifles, grenades, and ammunition inside classrooms. In Beit Hanoun, also in northern Gaza, the Israeli military stated that its troops targeted Hamas fighters who fired at them from a mosque and a school operated by UNRWA, the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians.
The claim could not be independently verified, and UNRWA has not yet responded to a request for comment. Israel maintains that Hamas fighters are using hospitals, schools, and other civilian areas in Gaza as hiding places.
As the conflict continues, concerns have arisen about the potential spillover of violence at Israel’s northern border, where the military has been intermittently exchanging fire with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militia. On Saturday afternoon, several launches from Lebanon were fired towards northern Israel. The military responded by targeting the source of the fire.
These strikes followed additional fire overnight, with the Israeli Air Force targeting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including operational command-and-control centers, according to the army. There were also launches from Lebanon into Israel overnight, triggering air-raid sirens warning of incoming rocket fire. The Israeli army responded by targeting the source of the fire.