Gaza Strip, Palestine —
Israel said its forces were fighting Hamas militants and attacked the group’s network of tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while dozens of people were reported killed in attacks in areas near refugee camps.
The Hamas-run Palestinian Interior Ministry said Israeli airstrikes hit the area around the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing at least 50 people. Israel has not commented on the attack.
With no clarity on when the war will end, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire from around the world.
Earlier, Israel said it carried out an airstrike that killed one of the Hamas commanders who orchestrated the deadly Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel. The Hamas attack killed 1,400 people.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, said that Nasim Abu Ajina was the commander of the Beit Lahia Battalion of the Hamas Northern Brigade who took part in developing the unmanned aerial vehicles and paragliders involved in the surprise invasion.
The IDF also said its combined air and ground forces struck around 300 targets over the past 24 hours, including anti-tank missile and underground rocket launch posts, as well as military compounds inside underground tunnels built by Hamas. The Israeli military said a number of Hamas militants were killed in the operation.
Hamas, designated by the US as a terrorist group, has an extensive network of tunnels under Gaza where it is believed to store weapons, food and other supplies.
Israeli troops and tanks continue to move further into northern Gaza, expanding their military presence in Gaza.
Israeli air strikes on Gaza since the October 7 attack have caused a humanitarian crisis in the densely populated Palestinian enclave. The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday (30/10) more than 8,300 people were killed in the airstrikes, mostly women and children. Humanitarian group Save the Children said more than 3,000 children died in the conflict.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference Monday that the call for a ceasefire “is a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism.”
“This will not happen,” Netanyahu added. “It is time for war.”
Netanyahu also rejected calls for him to resign over Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7. (lt/rd)