Israel’s defense minister declares: “We fight animals, not people” as he aims to “win the war and rescue the hostages trapped in Gaza.”

Israel warned that the streets of Gaza City are now a “battlefield” as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists intensified yesterday.

The military said its warplanes struck more than 450 targets and eliminated dozens of terrorist commanders in the past 24 hours.

In the image, tanks and infantry were seen advancing along the Gaza coast and rolling across the desert border, while the Israeli flag was raised by troops over a beachfront hotel north of Gaza City.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed his government’s determination to ignore requests for a ceasefire. He told the families of the 239 hostages held in Gaza: “We fight against animals, not against people.”

“It is a complex journey with hopes and disappointments. I am determined to win the war, and the return of hostages is part of victory.” It came as:

Israel warned that the streets of Gaza City are now a “battlefield” as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists intensified yesterday

A view of the remains of a mosque and houses destroyed by Israeli attacks in the central Gaza Strip

Palestinians evacuate a building destroyed in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

• Palestinian authorities claimed 8,000 people had been killed since October 7, including 3,324 children;
• The UN said civil order was collapsing in Gaza as looters stormed aid warehouses;
• President Joe Biden called on Israel to “immediately and significantly” increase the flow of humanitarian aid;
• Rioters tried to storm a plane from Tel Aviv on the tarmac of an airport in Dagestan, Russia.

In leaflets dropped from jets, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned civilians: “[bomb] Emergency shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza Governorate are not safe.’

IDF spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari reiterated earlier warnings for residents to flee to the south, accusing “cynical” Hamas commanders of using civilians as “human shields.”

After Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp, a man holds wounded children near farm animals around the heavily damaged buildings

He said the military was “making progress in this phase of the war and expanding ground operations.” At a televised press conference, he said: “We have eliminated dozens of terrorists from the tactical command.” “We are also bombing from the air to ensure the safety of our ground forces and destroy terrorist infrastructure.”

Mr Hagari also claimed that people in Gaza said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “no longer cares about them”. He added: “He has imposed a terrible catastrophe on them.” “He has lost control and is responsible for the collapse and devastation of Gaza.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told troops on the Gaza border : “We are at war.” It will be a long process and we will hit the enemy hard. The IDF is focused on one thing: victory, destroying Hamas, hitting as many enemy commanders and fighters as possible and enemy infrastructure.”

He promised that Israel would do “everything possible at sea, in the air and on the ground to ensure the safety of its troops,” but added that at least 331 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 32 captured since fighting began on October 7 had been taken.

According to the military, combined combat troops consisting of armored troops, engineers and infantry have been deployed in the north of the Gaza Strip since Friday afternoon. Israeli troops advanced on foot under the cover of smokescreens and attacked terrorist cell hideouts while helping direct warplanes to new targets. Soldiers fought a bitter battle with Hamas terrorists emerging from the network of underground tunnels near the Gaza border.

The IDF said several Hamas terrorists were killed and others injured after they launched an attack from a tunnel near Erez in the northern Gaza Strip.

A huge fireball rises over Gaza City after intense Israeli attacks

Birds fly past the rubble of bombed buildings in the north of the Gaza Strip

Palestinians stand around a building destroyed in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip in Rafah

Additional ground troops entered the Gaza Strip overnight, with ground troops attacking terror cell hideouts and helping direct warplanes to new targets

The military had previously shared video footage that they said showed the “horrifying underworld of Hamas terrorism” stretching beneath hospitals, schools, mosques and homes in Gaza. Airstrikes were carried out near the enclave’s largest hospital in northern Gaza City, which Israel says serves as a command center for Hamas terrorists but is full of patients and civilians seeking shelter.

The Palestinian Red Crescent claimed it had received “strong threats” from Israel to “immediately evacuate Al-Quds Hospital as it would be bombed.” There were later reports that several airstrikes hit the area around the hospital throughout the day, with some rockets hitting within 10 meters of the hospital’s gates.

In response to the airstrikes, Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah continued to fire rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israel. A rocket fragment fell into a school near Tel Aviv, but no one was injured.

Despite the IDF’s massive firepower, the head of its home front command warned that the path to victory would not be quick. “This war will last a long time – weeks or months,” Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo said at a news conference.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation that the second phase of the war “will be long and difficult and we are prepared for it.”

Mr. Netanyahu vowed to root out Hamas after meeting families of hostages in Gaza. “This is the second phase of the war, the goals of which are clear: the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages home,” he said.