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Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that “Gaza is burning” as the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it had started broader operations to destroy Hamas terror infrastructure in Gaza City.
Jerusalem “will not relent and we will not turn back until the mission is complete,” the defense minister declared.
“Gaza is burning,” Katz said. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers fight with courage to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Col. Avichay Adraee, the head of the Arab media division of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, subsequently confirmed on X that the army “began destroying Hamas’s infrastructure in Gaza City.”
“Gaza City is considered a dangerous combat zone, and staying in the area puts you at risk,” Adraee added, urging Palestinians to join “the more than 40% of the city’s residents” who have already evacuated.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking as he departed Israel for Doha on Tuesday morning, also suggested that the IDF offensive to capture Gaza City had already started.
“The Israelis have begun to take operations there,” Rubio stated. “So we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen.
“We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go,” Washington’s top diplomat continued.
“Our preference, our No. 1 choice, is that this ends through a negotiated settlement,” he added. “At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in later on Tuesday, saying the military had launched an ” intense operation” in Gaza.
Israel “is at a critical stage in this struggle and there are consequences,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his spokesman.
On Monday night, the IDF said it had eliminated 21 senior operatives of the Iranian-controlled Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization, which participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre alongside Hamas.
The operation—led by the IDF’s Southern Command in coordination with its Military Intelligence Directorate, the Israeli Air Force and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet)—targeted commanders, weapons experts and field operatives.
Among those killed were key terrorists responsible for arms production, artillery, sniper and sector command positions, including Mohammad Radwan Ramadan Mushtaha, the head of military armament in Gaza’s north, and Amir al-Shaam Faiz Wadi, commander of the terror group’s sniper array in the Khan Younis Brigade, the IDF stated on Monday.
Other high-ranking commanders killed include Jamal Mahmoud Salem Ma’amar, who oversaw artillery operations in Rafah, as well as Fazel Zakariya Ahmad Abu al-Ata, a Gaza Brigade sector commander.
The IDF also eliminated five operatives with specialized knowledge of arms production, including Mansour Mahmoud Mohammad Salah and Ahmad Ziyad Qasem Qadi, as well as several field operatives who had executed direct attacks against Israeli forces.
Ihab Bassam Yousef Abu al-Kheir, head of PIJ’s sniper squads, was among those killed.
“The IDF and the ISA will continue to act decisively against all terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, the military hit dozens of targets in Gaza City on Monday night, in a wave of aerial attacks described as “intense and significant.”
Residents in central Israel reported hearing the echoes of the intense explosions.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stressed last week that Jerusalem was still seeking to end the war based on US President Donald Trump’s latest truce proposal and according to the principles set by Israel’s Cabinet.
Netanyahu on Aug. 14 outlined the Cabinet’s objectives as the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all 48 remaining hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control and establishing an alternative civilian administration in the enclave.
Netanyahu on Monday evening expressed appreciation for the Trump administration’s “unflinching support for Israel’s battle against Hamas and the release of all our hostages.”
The prime minister was responding to Trump stating that he just read a news report that “Hamas has moved the hostages above ground to use them as human shields against Israel’s ground offensive” in Gaza City.
“I hope the leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing,” he had written on his Truth Social platform. “This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before. Don’t let this happen or all bets are off. Release all hostages now.”
Forty-eight hostages remain in terror captivity in the Strip, 711 days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 cross-border attack. According to Israeli estimates, up to 20 are believed to be alive.
