Israeli military expands ground operations in Gaza City
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As the Israeli military operation expanded, Hamas's military wing on Friday appeared to threaten the remaining Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza. In a statement that did not mention the plight of its own people, Hamas said its fighters were holding some captives in the evacuation zones under 'strict security measures that are extremely dangerous to their lives.'
The armed group has in the past threatened the well-being of hostages in the face of Israeli bombardments.
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The military said its recent campaign had dismantled weapons infrastructure, including a Hamas command and control center and killed militants, including Mohammed Awad, who it described as a senior military commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen.
The military said Awad had taken part in Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and was 'likely personally involved in the abduction and brutal murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas,' though it did not explain how it had come to that conclusion. Shiri Bibas and her two young children became symbols for many Israelis of their suffering on Oct. 7, 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 abducted to Gaza.
Avichay Adraee, the military's Arabic-language spokesperson, said in a post late Thursday on social media that he was providing a 'final' warning before a new attack, urging people to relocate southward. Adraee suggested that militant groups were operating among civilians.
While many people have complied with such evacuation orders from the military during the most recent Israeli campaign, others have chosen to stay in their homes or shelters, saying they could not bear being displaced or that they have nowhere else to go.
On Friday, the military said its troops began operating in the neighborhood of Shajaiye in eastern Gaza City in order 'to expand the security zone,' referring to what it has characterized as a buffer zone next to Israel's border with Gaza.
During the first 15 months of war, much of Shajaiye was transformed into a wasteland as the Israeli military fought Hamas, with buildings demolished, roads ripped up and utilities infrastructure ruined.
Palestinian health authorities — who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants — said the bodies of 27 people killed in the Tuffah strike had arrived at the hospital.
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Multiple videos verified by The New York Times show an explosion and its chaotic aftermath at the Dar al-Arqam school, where civilians were sheltering. The strikes were followed by a chaotic scene at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, where dust-covered and bloodied children were rushed from vehicles.
Khamis Elessi, a volunteer doctor at the hospital, said successive waves of wounded people arrived in the emergency room, overwhelming medical staff.
'It was a terrifying scene,' he said in phone interview. 'People were thrown on the ground.'
Elessi, 56, said he was stunned by the number of wounded children. 'I was brought to tears,' he said. 'One boy kept asking me: Why did they hit me?'
One of those killed was the grandson of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas's top negotiator based in Qatar, the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV channel reported.
Israel has previously targeted schools being used as shelters, contending that Hamas militants were operating command centers in them. Hamas has denied such claims in the past. The United Nations has said that Israeli strikes on schools probably violated the law by causing disproportionate harm to noncombatants.
More than 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the collapse of the cease-fire on March 18 and more than 50,000 people have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. The bodies of 86 people killed by Israel arrived at hospitals across Gaza on Thursday, according to the health ministry.
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