Hamas is preventing civilians from evacuating Gaza City as the Israeli military prepares to capture the terrorist stronghold.
The Islamic terror group was threatening and intimidating Gaza City residents into staying within the possible combat zone to use them as human shields, according to the new evidence released by COGAT, the Israeli agency overseeing humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
“The military said it has identified increasing attempts by the terror group to keep residents inside the city as human shields, using both propaganda and physical pressure,” the Israeli news website Ynetnews reported Tuesday.
The capture of Gaza City, dubbed as Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots II,’ is key to Israel’s military aims. Most of the remaining hostages and Hamas’ combat-ready terrorist forces are believed to be in the area.
Hamas is reportedly threatening to ambush civilians trying to leave the city. “We want to go south but Hamas are waiting for us on the way,” a Gaza City resident told a COGAT official. “They tell people: go back home, there is no evacuation, go back, go back – and the people are scattering.”
“People are really afraid. Some of them are going through side streets and looking for alternative ways. Hamas is standing on the seashore near Al-Nablsi and in other places, preventing the population from moving along the main roads,” the Gaza resident added.
Despite Hamas’s threats, the COGAT is undertaking efforts to secure humanitarian relief as Gaza City’s population moves south, the IDF said on Tuesday:
In recent weeks, under the leadership of COGAT, steps have been taken to adjust the humanitarian response, as part of the preparations to receive the population in the southern part of the Gaza Strip for their protection.Accordingly, the entry of food, medical equipment, and shelter supplies has been increased. In addition, steps have been taken regarding water supply and medical response in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it was ‘increasing operational readiness’ as Operation Gideon’s Chariots enters its second phase.
“The IDF, under the leadership of the Ground Forces Command, is preparing to enhance operational readiness for the reservist troops mobilized ahead of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots II’,” the military said in a press release on Tuesday. “In the coming weeks, the troops will undergo a series of exercises, in which they will carry out combat drills in open and urban terrains to strengthen operational readiness in the Gaza Strip.”
The military was mobilizing reservists and making logistical preparations for the offensive. As part of this effort, led by the Ground Forces, advanced equipment and weapons have been procured, including UAVs for platoon and company commanders, which will provide a broad tactical advantage for the reservists,” the IDF statement added. “The reservist troops are a central and essential pillar in the defense of Israeli civilians and the security of the state, and the IDF will continue to support them at all times.”
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency foiled a Hamas plot to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Shin Bet busted a Hamas terror cell planning to murder the Israeli minister using explosive drones, news reports say.
“Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence service said on Wednesday it had thwarted a plan to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and that members of a Hamas cell had been arrested,” Reuters reported Tuesday. “The planned Hamas attack against the far-right cabinet minister would have involved use of explosive drones, the Shin Bet said.”
The terror cell managed to fly an explosive drone over the private residence of Minister Ben-Gvir before his bodyguards and security services intercepted it, the Israel National News/Arutz Sheva suggests:
IDF and Shin Bet forces in recent weeks arrested a squad of Hamas operatives from Hebron who allegedly operated under the Hamas headquarters in Turkey to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.During their interrogation, the Shin Bet found that they purchased several drones, which they planned to equip with explosives to use in the attack. The drones were seized during the arrest. The Shin Bet continues to interrogate the suspects.Arutz Sheva-Israel National News has learned that approximately a month ago, the minister’s security detail noticed drones flying over his home while his family was present. The guards evacuated the family to a safe place, and later found that the drones were equipped with explosives.Minister Ben-Gvir thanked the security forces for their work: “I am grateful to the Acting Head of the Shin Bet, to the agency’s investigators and operatives, to the Israel Prison Service intelligence, to the Magen Unit personnel, to IDF soldiers, to Israel Police officers, and to everyone working to protect lives.”
The Israeli military eliminated a Hamas terrorist, who had held three female Israeli hostages prior to their release. Hazem Awni Naeem, a senior terrorist belonging to Hamas’s Gaza City brigade, also played a key role in the terror group’s intelligence operation.
“Naeem had held Israeli hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Naama Levy in captivity prior to their release as part of a ceasefire deal,” The Times of Israel reported.
He had close ties to Hamas’s new apparent leader, Ezz al-Din Haddad, who rose to the top rank after the IDF eliminated Gaza-based terror chief Mohammad Sinwar three months ago. “He was considered close to the brigade’s commander, Ezz al-Din Haddad, now regarded as Hamas’ de facto military leader in Gaza,” Ynetnews reported.
“On August 28th, 2025, the IDF and ISA [Shin Bet security agency] eliminated the senior terrorist Hazem Awni Naeem in the Gaza City area,” the military said in a statement on Tuesday. “The terrorist held several roles in Hamas’ Gaza City brigade, and throughout the war, he was a senior operative in the military intelligence of the Gaza City brigade and was close with the commander of the Gaza City brigade, Ezz al-Din Haddad.”
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