Israeli forces have surrounded the home of a top Hamas leader in Gaza as Palestinians are warned to flee the southern part of the enclave, officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the IDF was closing in on the home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the town of Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands have fled since the war began.
“His home is not his fortress, and he can escape, but it’s only a matter of time before we get him.” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Our forces can reach anywhere in the Gaza Strip.”
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari noted that there is a “terrorist infrastructure and headquarters” at Sinwar’s home, with Hamas leaders possibly hiding underground through the group’s 300-mile tunnel system.
“Our role is to reach Sinwar and kill him,” Hagari said of the IDF’s advance on Khan Younis.
The house of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was besieged by the IDF. AP The Israeli army has vowed to crush the Hamas leadership in Gaza as bombardment intensified in southern cities, where hundreds of thousands have fled. AFP via Getty Images
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This is not the first time Netanyahu and the IDF have claimed to have Sinwar, the man believed to have masterminded the October 7 massacre, trapped by advancing troops.
Last month, the Israeli military claimed to have closed in on Sinwar while he was isolated in an underground bunker in Gaza City.
The manhunt for Sinwar in Gaza’s second largest city came as leaflets were dropped from the sky warning Palestinians to flee south, similar to those dropped during the invasion of the north during the first phase of the war.
The conflict raging in the north has displaced 1.8 million Palestinians, about 80% of the population in Gaza, with the international group Human Rights Watch condemning the latest wave of leaflets.
An injured man is rushed to safety following an airstrike in Rafah. AFP via Getty Images Buildings are destroyed in Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza. ZUMAPRESS.com
“No military force in any conflict can simply make an announcement and then bomb an area without regard for the civilians there — no matter how many warnings are given and no matter in what form,” said Andrew Stroehlein, HRW’s European editorial and media director. . .
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He added that due to communication disruptions in Gaza, many Palestinians may have missed additional warnings sent through phone calls and social media posts.
The leaflets dropped on Khan Younis, in particular, included verses from the Koran that appeared to refer to the same language used by Hamas when describing the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 people, CNN reported.
“The flood has come upon them, while they continue to do wrong,” the pamphlet read in Arabic, quoting a verse from the story of Noah.
Israel and Hamas engaged in heavy fighting in and around Khan Younis, with the terrorist group claiming it destroyed at least 23 IDF vehicles south of Khan Younis and north of Beit Lahiya.
Meanwhile, Hagari said that IDF soldiers were fighting for the first time “in the heart” of Khan Younis, a day after Israel claimed that it had killed half of the commanders of the 24-unit Hamas battalion since the war began on Oct. 7.
A child is being treated at Nasser Medical Hospital following Wednesday’s airstrike. Getty Images As the fighting in Gaza intensified, Hamas continued to launch rockets into Israel. AFP via Getty Images
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Hamdi Tanira, a resident of Khan Younis, said he and 30 others barely escaped the explosions from Israeli airstrikes that hit their neighborhood.
“I swear we don’t know how we made it out alive,” he said, noting that 20 sleeping children were among those who made it out in time.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
