Israel begins heavy airstrikes ahead of Gaza City onslaught
Israeli forces began pounding Gaza City on Sunday night, killing a top Hamas official — as Jerusalem ironed out its plan to seize the entire city and warned the terror group’s leaders abroad there’s no place to hide.
Airstrikes and tank fire were reported across Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza City, which is believed to be Hamas’ last bastion — and expected to soon be occupied by the Israeli military.
One of the strikes killed Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz touted on X, warning that more terrorists would be slain in the upcoming invasion of Gaza City.
“Soon, with the intensification of the campaign in Gaza, many more of his criminal partners — Hamas murderers and rapists — will join him,” Katz wrote.
Obeida was one of the few remaining senior members of Hamas’ military wing in charge before the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel.
The Israeli military accused Obeida of leading “propaganda and psychological terror campaigns” against Israel, claiming his office was behind the haunting videos of the Oct. 7 hostages released by Hamas since the start of the war.
“Abu Obeida can no longer spread his lies, propaganda and terror,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Along with Israell’s threat to Hamas’ domestic fighters, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned that all Hamas officials are viable targets, including any leaders who reside in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and other nations.
“The bulk of Hamas’s ruling leadership that remains is abroad, and we will reach them, too,” Zamir said, according to a Times of Israel translation.
Hamas has not confirmed Obeida’s death, but its ministry of health, which does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians, reported that at least 78 people have already been killed in the latest bombing campaign.
The intense attack comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with his security cabinet to discuss the planned invasion of Gaza City.
Israel has ordered the full evacuation of the city, where hundreds of thousands have taken shelter after being repeatedly displaced by the war, which approaches its 23rd month.
While the full offensive into Gaza City is not expected for a few weeks, tens of thousands of people have already begun evacuating the city, fearing they may come to be trapped between the encroaching Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters.
“They are crawling into the heart of the city where hundreds of thousands are sheltering, from the east, north, and south, while bombing those areas from the air and ground to scare people to leave,” said Rezik Salah, a local father of two, to Reuters.
The UN has warned that a military takeover of Gaza City would create “catastrophic consequences” for civilians and the remaining hostages in Gaza, with the UK saying such an operation would be “a huge mistake.”
The Red Cross said a full evacuation of Gaza City would force civilians into pockets across the Gaza Strip that are in no way equipped to handle such influxes amid shortages in food, shelter and medical supplies.
Netanyahu has defended the looming invasion as the best way to defeat Hamas and rescue the hostages, with discussions regarding the latest cease-fire proposals not included in the security meeting.
Of the 251 people who were taken hostage Oct.7, only 20 who are believed to still be alive.
With Post wires
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
