Israel is building a large tent city in southern Gaza to accommodate civilians moving out of Rafah as the military gears up for an operation against the last remaining Hamas stronghold, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
“Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to signal it plans an offensive on the city of Rafah,” the news agency disclosed.
The Israeli military has succeeded in erecting the makeshift city in a few days, the news reports suggest. “Photos from satellite imaging company Planet Labs show a marked build up of tents in a uniform pattern near Khan Younis,” the Daily Mail (UK) reported, referring the material published by the AP News. “The photos, taken three days apart on April 18 and April 21 respectively, show white structures being built up significantly over a short period of time.”
Days after Israeli missiles penetrated Iran’s air defenses to hit military targets in retaliation to a recent Iranian aerial strike, the IDF is preparing to capture the last Hamas stronghold, where the terror group’s top leadership is holed up — using Israeli hostages as human shields.
According to The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, “Israel’s military is gearing up to complete what it says is unfinished business: Uprooting Hamas from its last stronghold in the Gazan city of Rafah.”
On Tuesday, The Times of Israel also noted Jerusalem’s resolve to destroy Hamas after the terrorist group rejected the latest ceasefire offer earlier this month:
Their construction, however, comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened “additional painful blows” targeting Hamas over the breakdown of talks over trying to free the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip.That could include the long-threatened attack on Rafah, where half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have fled amid the war. The US, Israel’s main ally, has repeatedly said any military operation needs to protect civilians.Netanyahu has said he would order the military to evacuate civilians from Rafah for the offensive, but it is not clear where they could go.
The IDF on Tuesday launched a raid in northern Gaza, evacuating some areas ahead of the combat operation.
“The IDF is calling on some residents of northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya to evacuate to other areas of the town, as the military launches a new operation in the area,” The Times of Israel reported. “Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a list of the zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement.”
Despite the recent troop withdrawal from Gaza, the IDF continues to conduct limited ground operations and precision airstrikes against Hamas targets across the terror-infested enclave.
The Israeli air forces hit Hamas’s rocket firing capabilities. “Based on IDF intelligence and operational identifications, IAF fighter jets completed several airstrikes overnight on Hamas launch posts located in southern Gaza. The launch posts were loaded, but were struck before any launches were carried out toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said in a press release Tuesday morning.
According to the IDF, the military and the air force continued to destroy Hamas terror targets across Gaza:
IDF troops continued their counterterrorism activity in the central Gaza Strip’s corridor. During one of the activities, the troops eliminated a number of terrorists using sniper fire. Additionally, an IAF aircraft struck several terrorists who hid adjacent to a civilian shelter in the area of Bureij. The strike was carried out in a targeted and precise manner.Over the past day, IAF fighter jets and additional aircraft struck approximately 25 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including military infrastructure, observation posts, terrorists, launch posts.
Emboldened by the recent Iranian aerial strike on Israel, the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror militia stepped up drone and rocket attacks into northern Israel. Hezbollah on Tuesday conducted the ‘deepest’ drone attack on Israelis since October 7, reaching the north city port city of Acre.
“Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had launched a drone attack against Israeli military bases north of the city of Acre, in its deepest strike into Israeli territory since the Gaza war began,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “The IDF said it had no knowledge of any of its facilities being hit by Hezbollah, but had said earlier on Tuesday that it intercepted two “aerial targets” off Israel’s northern coast.”
The IDF responded by hitting terror targets in southern Lebanon, and eliminating two ‘significant’ Hezbollah terrorists operating in the area.
The IDF revealed the profile of the two slain Hezbollah terrorists in a press release Tuesday afternoon:
This morning (Tuesday), IAF aircraft struck and eliminated Hussein Ali Azkul, a significant terrorist operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit in southern Lebanon. Azkul was heavily involved in the planning and execution of terrorist attacks against Israel and was involved in the Hezbollah’s Aerial unit’s routine activities. His elimination significantly harms the capabilities of Hezbollah’s Aerial Unit.Additionally, overnight, the terrorist Sajed Sarafand, a significant terrorist of the Radwan Forces’ Aerial Unit in the Hezbollah terrorist organization was eliminated in the area of Arzoun.In his role, Sarafand led and promoted terrorist attacks against Israel.
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