ISRAELI Defence Forces are said to have “encircled” Gaza City and is now thought to be engaged in face-to-face combat in its fight to eliminate Hamas.
The Israeli military’s “encirclement of the city of Gaza has been completed,” according to Israel Defence Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
IDF troops are now said to be “attacking positions, command centres, firing posts, firing infrastructure and eliminating terrorists in face-to-face combat,” he said.
The fighting comes though after reports claim at least 20 people were killed after a school-turned-shelter was damaged in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza, the UNRWA has claimed.
The cause of the damage has not yet been independently verified.
The UN said in a statement: “In the past 24 hours alone, four UNRWA shelters were damaged in the Gaza Strip.
“Today, a school-turned-shelter was damaged at the Jabalia Refugee Camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing at least 20 people and injuring five.
“This comes after two days of heavy bombardments in the area.”
The Sun Online has contacted the IDF for comment.
Earlier today, the IDF claimed it had killed another top Hamas commander was killed in the second airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in 24 hours.
Israeli forces said Muhammad A’sar the head of Hamas’ anti-tank missile unit was “eliminated” in a strike of the Gazan refugee camp dubbed a “terrorist stronghold.“
The IDF said the terror group’s commander was responsible for “numerous anti-tank missile attacks against civilians and IDF soldiers.”
It comes as another top Hamas commander was killed in Tuesday’s blast at the Jabalia refugee camp.
Ibrahim Biari, was one of the Hamas leaders responsible for orchestrating the deadly October 7 attacks.
Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies reveal the devastating aftermath of the airstrikes that left a trail of destruction across Gaza.
Hamas claimed the blast killed 50 civilians while the second strike at the west side of the camp in the Al-Faluga area left dozens dead and injured, including children.
The terror group also claimed that seven hostages were among the victims of the attack, including three foreign passport holders.
The IDF described the explosion as a “wide-scale strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure”.
And today fighting in the besieged enclave continued with Israeli ground troops pushing deeper and advancing in the south, along the coast and within Beit Hanoun.
“We are at the gates of Gaza City,” Israeli military commander Brigadier General Itzik Cohen said.
He added that troops “have destroyed much of Hamas’s capabilities, attacked its strategic facilities, all of its array of explosives, its underground tunnels and other facilities.
According to Israeli intelligence Israel Radar, the IDF has reached sites in Gaza “where no Israeli soldiers set foot in over 20 years” and the army uses “precise rockets to eliminate terror squads hiding in high-rises.”
On Wednesday the lifeline Rafah crossing opened for the first time since the October 7 attack as hundreds of foreign nationals rushed to cross into Egypt.
The crossing, the only route out of Gaza not controlled by Israel, was opened in a crucial move to allow 500 trapped foreign passport holders to escape the hellish battleground.
The first Brits were able to cross the border last night but others were turned away.
British nationals have been able to get out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing for a second day, officials said amid intensive diplomatic efforts as Israeli forces continue to advance.
The Foreign Office said more UK nationals were able to make it into Egypt on Thursday after two UK aid workers managed to flee Gaza a day earlier, but declined to say how many.
Around 200 Britons in Gaza have registered with the authorities, and along with their dependents the total number the UK is trying to secure passage for is thought to be in the low hundreds.
The Hamas-run health ministry said more than 9,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7 when Israel launched its military response to the atrocities committed by the group.
