The Israel is expanding ground operations, as it intensifies Gaza bombing.
This is as Israeli authorities said it has killed the head of Hamas’s paraglider operations during the group’s attack on Israel on 7 October.
He was allegedly responsible for drone attacks on Israeli military posts.
The Israel Defense Force posted on X , forme⅞urly known as Twitter: “Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, the Head of Hamas’ Aerial Array.
“Abu Rakaba was responsible for Hamas’ UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles], drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defence. He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts.”
The Israelis said earlier their ground forces were “expanding operations” targeting Hamas in Gaza
BBC also reported huge explosions in the territory, with Israeli warplanes carrying out heavy strikes.
Hamas says clashes have taken place in northern Gaza – reports say some Israeli troops and tanks have entered.
Communication networks went down around the same time, meaning residents in Gaza can’t be contacted.
The UN General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian truce, with 120 states voting for a resolution put forward by Jordan.
Israel has been bombing Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people and saw 229 people kidnapped as hostages
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 7,000 people have been killed since Israel’s retaliatory bombing began.
Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the charity organisation known as Doctors Without Borders, said it had lost contact with some of its Palestinian colleagues on the ground.
In a message shared on social media , the group said it was “particularly worried for the patients, medical staff and thousands of families taking shelter at Al Shifa hospital and other health facilities”.
“We call for the unequivocal protection of all medical facilities, staff and civilians across the Gaza Strip,” MSF said.
MSF’s website says it moved international medical staff to the south of Gaza on 13 October, following Israel’s evacuation order. Prior to that, the group had an operational theatre at Al Shifa in the north of the Gaza strip. Al Shifa is Gaza City’s main hospital.
Earlier, an Israeli military spokesman alleged that Hamas was using the hospital as a shield for underground tunnels and command centres. Hamas has denied this accusation.
