Israeli forces are “at the height of battle,” Netanyahu says, as commanders approach Hamas bases in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that his forces were “at the height of battle” as they pushed deeper into Hamas strongholds in Gaza City.

Senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders said they surrounded the terrorists as they approached with tanks, bombers, helicopters, warships and ground troops.

But they encountered fierce resistance from Hamas militants who emerged from the “spider web” of tunnels beneath the enclave nicknamed “Gaza Metro.”

“We had impressive successes and passed through the outskirts of Gaza City,” Netanyahu said. “We’re making progress.”

He later told a group of troops: “I want to make one thing clear: Nothing will stop us. We will advance and win, and we will do so with God’s help and the help of our heroic soldiers.”

Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 28, 2023

Smoke rises after Israeli attacks in the Tal Al Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, November 2

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestinian Health Authority, more than 9,000 Palestinians and at least 1,400 Israelis have been killed since October 7

People check buildings destroyed in an Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 2

The prime minister also said that the government had made no decision about supplying fuel to Gaza, despite the desperate pleas of hospital managers there – they even asked locals to donate a liter of fuel if they had it.

“We have not yet made a decision on fuel transfer. “I did not give any instructions and the War Cabinet did not approve any decision,” he told reporters.

Netanyahu’s comments came as Hamas and its Iran-backed ally Hezbollah in Lebanon fired their heaviest rocket fire since the war began at the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona, wounding two people.

The intensity of the fighting in Gaza was highlighted by the loss of Israel’s highest-ranking officer in the conflict so far, Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, the 18th soldier to die since the ground operation began.

The 33-year-old tank commander, Colonel Habaka, a member of Israel’s Druze Arab minority, was instrumental in the fight against Hamas’ murderous attack on October 7 that killed 1,400 people. He fought at Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the deadliest massacre sites, killing dozens of terrorists that day.

Four other soldiers were also seriously injured in the battle yesterday.

Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, chief of Israel’s military engineers, said troops were in an initial phase of opening access routes to the Gaza Strip but had encountered mines and booby traps.

“Hamas has learned and prepared well,” he said.

Hamas and allied Islamic Jihad fighters emerged from tunnels to fire on tanks and then disappeared back into the network, residents said, with videos from both groups showing.

The Palestinian death toll from nearly four weeks of Israeli air and artillery attacks on the blockaded enclave now rose to more than 9,000 on Thursday, Gaza health authorities said.

United Nations experts warned that the Palestinian population in Gaza faces a “significant risk of genocide” as they run out of time and called for an immediate ceasefire.

More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, Hamas government health officials said.

More than 3,600 Palestinian children have reportedly been killed in 25 days of fighting, and more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes by bombings, while food, water and fuel are running out.

“We remain convinced that the Palestinian people face a grave risk of genocide,” the group of experts, made up of seven UN special rapporteurs, said in a statement.

“We call for a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure aid reaches those who need it most.”

An Israeli artillery unit fires Nov. 2 during a military exercise in the annexed Golan Heights near the border with Lebanon

People check buildings destroyed in an Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 2

Israeli rescue workers inspect a house hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip near Lod, Israel, on November 2, 2023

A victim injured in an Israeli bombardment is carried on a stretcher to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on November 2

A Palestinian girl smiles on a hospital bed at Al-Arish hospital after arriving in Egypt from Gaza on November 2 amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas

The Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva said it was preparing a response to the experts’ comments.

As international calls for a humanitarian cessation of hostilities went unheeded, Palestinians reportedly suffered from shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine.

“Water is being used as a weapon of war,” said Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.