SCORCHED EARTH
Israel blitzes Gaza, West Bank, and Syria after vow to step up airstrikes & destroy Hamas ahead of ground invasion
ISRAEL blitzed Gaza, the West Bank and Syria in the early hours of Sunday as the country escalated its airstrikes.
The overnight bombardment could be the precursor to the long-awaited ground invasion of Gaza amid Israel's ongoing efforts to wipe out Hamas.
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For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza, with tanks and tens of thousands of troops massed at the border.
Israeli military officials say Hamas infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there.
While maintaining its efforts to crush Hamas, Israeli officials have also spoken of carving out a possible buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.
It is likely that the nation will follow a ferocious five-step plan for a successful ground offensive.
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That would include seizing north Gaza, eliminating Hamas' military and leadership, applying the same steps in the south of the Strip, establishing a fortified base, pinpointing strikes to wipe out Hamas, and demilitarising Gaza within five years.
Meanwhile, the country's security agency Shin Bet has created a new "Eternal" strike force to track down and kill all 2,500 Hamas terrorists behind the October 7 massacre.
The special unit was specifically set up to target members of Nukhba - a special commando unit within Hamas's military wing.
The force is named after the World War I-era Jewish underground organisation “Nili” - an acronym for a Hebrew phrase which translates as “the Eternal One of Israel will not lie.”
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Israel warned that all Hamas members are dead men walking, with two accused masterminds of the October 7 attacks at the top of the hit list: Hamas military commander Muhammad Deif and political leader Yahya Sinwar.
Israel repeated its calls for people to leave north Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air.
It says an estimated 700,000 have already fled, but hundreds of thousands remain, raising the risk of mass civilian casualties in the case of a ground offensive.
Gazan authorities said that 50 people had been killed in airstrikes on the strip overnight.
The IDF claims Hamas is losing control in the north and centre areas of Gaza, reports.
Stats released on Sunday by the Gaza health ministry reveal the latest number of casualties from Israeli airstrikes.
It claims that since October 7, 4,651 Palestinians have been killed, of which 40% were children, reports.
More than 14,245 people have been wounded, with 70% of them being children and women, it has been reported.
A spokesman, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said that Israeli strikes had killed 266 Palestinians, including 117 children, in the past 24 hours.
In the West Bank, an Israeli jet struck a compound beneath a mosque early on Sunday.
The Israeli military said it blasted a "terrorist route" under the al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin refugee camp that it said was being used by militants to organise attacks.
There have also been Israeli missile strikes on two Syrian airports overnight, killing two people.
Today's early morning strikes are the second in recent days to hit the West Bank, where violence has surged since Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out a deadly October 7 rampage in Israel.
Palestinian medics said at least one person died in the mosque strike.
The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.
"Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, (who) were neutralised, were organising an imminent terror attack," the Israeli military said in a statement.
The IDF released images that it said showed an entrance to a bunker under the mosque.
It also released a diagram that it said showed where militants had stored weapons there.
In a tweet, the IDF wrote: "The IDF & ISA just conducted an aerial strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist compound in the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin.
"Recent IDF intel revealed that the mosque was used as a command centre to plan and execute terrorist attacks against civilians."
Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian militant stronghold, was the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year.
Footage on social media, appearing to show the scene of the air strike, showed a gaping hole in one of the mosque's exterior walls, surrounded by debris.
Several dozen Palestinians are seen assessing the damage, as ambulance sirens blare in the background.
The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said at least one Palestinian was killed and three others injured. It had earlier said that two people were killed.
The Israeli Air Force said: "In a joint IDF and ISA activity, the IDF conducted an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the Al-Ansar mosque in Jenin.
"The mosque contained a terror cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives who were organising an imminent terror attack.
"The terrorist cell also carried out a terror attack on October 14th in the area of the security fence, where an explosive device was detonated by a cellular activation of terror forces who arrived at the scene."
It comes as
- Israel vowed to unleash a new wave of airstrikes ahead of its ground invasion of Gaza
- Fears are growing the crisis could spark a major war involving Iran and the United States
- Hamas is still holding hundreds of hostages kidnapped in their October 7 massacre
- At least 7 Brits are feared to be among the captives
- Protests continue worldwide as tensions flare between supporters of Israel and Palestine
- Israel formed a new strike force to track down and kill the butchers who slaughtered families & children
Meanwhile, two people were also killed following an Israeli missile strike on two Syrian airports early this morning.
The country's general directorate of meteorology has said two workers were killed in the strike on Damascus international airport.
Israel also hit Aleppo international airport.
Both airports are currently out of service, with scheduled flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo being diverted to Latakia International Airport, the Ministry of Transportation said.
Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo.
It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began.
Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday.
The group's deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel says it will continue to respond to rocket fire from Lebanon.
It comes after Israel last night vowed to ramp up airstrikes on Gaza as it prepares for the "next stage of war".
The IDF said bombing raids will be crucial in "minimising danger" to create the "best conditions" for invasion.
Tens of thousands of troops and huge columns of tanks remain massed on the Israel-Gaza border awaiting orders.
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Speaking at a press conference on Saturday night, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: “We have to enter the next phase of the war in the best conditions, not according to what anyone tells us.
"From today, we are increasing the strikes and minimising the danger."
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