Israeli military officials said their bombardment of Gaza may “step up” in the final hours before a four-day ceasefire begins early Friday – as reports say Hamas morale has plummeted, causing many terrorists to retreat south.
“[It’s] business as usual,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told reporters Thursday.
Artillery airstrikes “may even increase” in the coming hours, Recht added, according to NBC News.
Israeli shells were reported to have fallen in northern Gaza and in the southern city of Khan Younis Thursday, according to the BBC, while heavy fighting continued in the northern part of the city.
Meanwhile, some Hamas terrorists have abandoned their weapons and fled south as the IDF continues to gain ground and has succeeded in eliminating senior officers, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The bodies of people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes are being buried in a mass grave in Khan Younis on Wednesday.MOHAMMED SABER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The cease-fire – brokered by Qatar, where the head of the Hamas terror group is based – will begin at 7 a.m. Friday local time (12 a.m. ET).
Up to 50 hostages are expected to be handed over starting at 4pm in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a truck load of humanitarian aid and oil.
Amid the carnage, stray dogs reportedly began eating corpses strewn among the rubble of Gaza City, Qatari officials said in a sobering assessment of the situation on the ground.
“Dogs are eating the bodies of dead people in the streets,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told the Independent.
“We are facing an unparalleled humanitarian situation,” added Al-Ansari.
The apocalyptic scene echoes recent testimony from the head of UK-based non-profit Medical Aid for Palestine.
“Dozens of bodies are piled up in the forecourt of the hospital, rotting and eaten by stray dogs when the morgue is closed – and no one can move them for burial,” Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestine testified to the UK Parliament’s international development committee earlier. this month, reports The Telegraph.
The Hamas-run government claims more than 14,500 people have been killed across the Gaza Strip since Israel launched a reprisal against the terror group for the October 7 sneak attack, which left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and 240 hostages.
Plumes of smoke and dust rose from the rubble of Gaza on Thursday, as Israeli forces pressed ahead with a cease-fire. AFP via Getty Images Israeli forces search a Hamas tunnel filled with weapons reportedly found under Al-Shifra hospital in Gaza .AP
The Gaza Strip has been secured by Israeli forces, who continue to comb the intricate network of tunnels under the city and root out terrorists.
One of the tunnels was reportedly discovered under al-Shifa hospital last week, suggesting the terrorist group had exploited international humanitarian law meant to protect civilian medical centers during wartime.
“Hamas terrorist tunnel network is located under the hospital [has] exploited electricity and resources taken from the hospital. In addition, Hamas keeps a lot of weapons in the hospital and in the hospital area,” the Israeli army said.
The IDF has released a video of a weapon being stored behind an MRI machine in a hospital.
“Furthermore, after the Hamas massacre on October 7, Hamas terrorists sought refuge in hospitals, some of them taking hostages from Israel with them.”
Israeli military officials said their bombardment of Gaza may “step up” in the final hours before a four-day ceasefire begins early Friday.AFP via Getty Images
Hamas has denied the accusations.
However, to further support their claims, Israel released extensive footage and images on Wednesday showing a rare peek into Hamas’ 300-mile underground tunnel system through an entrance found at al-Shifa Hospital.
On Thursday, Israel confirmed hospital director Dr. Abu Salmiya was stopped at a checkpoint and was detained for questioning “according to evidence showing that al-Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, functions as a command and control center for Hamas.”
The hospital, meanwhile, had moved its patients and staff south before the ceasefire.
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