The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday night that it now controls roughly 40% of Gaza City after intensifying its ground offensive against Hamas.
Brig. Gen. Ephraim “Effie” Defrin, the IDF spokesperson, told reporters forces were pressing deeper into the enclave as part of the second phase of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots.” He said tens of thousands of reservists had been mobilized as a “force multiplier” to expand the ground assault.
Units from the 99th Division, including Nahal and 7th Armored Brigade soldiers, are deployed to Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, while the 162nd Division, including the 401st Armored Brigade and the Givati Brigade, is operating on the outskirts of Sheikh Radwan in its north.
Defrin shared footage showing the destruction of terror tunnels and said operations to dismantle Hamas infrastructure would soon intensify.
“We will increase pressure on Hamas until its defeat,” he said.
As part of the military operation, the IDF and other security agencies continue to invest “immense efforts and turning over every stone to bring the hostages home,” Defrin told journalists at the briefing, adding that “We will continue to do everything possible to return them.”
The IDF has begun implementing the Aug. 8 Cabinet decision to occupy Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Aug. 31.
An Israeli security source told Hebrew media on Wednesday that up to 80,000 Palestinians have already left Gaza City amid the IDF operation.
Israel’s Channel 12 cited this week sources familiar with the plan saying Netanyahu was pushing forward with the move mainly due to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has lost faith in negotiations.
Netanyahu on Wednesday night dismissed Hamas’s statement earlier in the evening on its readiness to reach a “comprehensive deal” to end the war in the Strip as yet “another Hamas spin that has nothing new in it.”
The premier on Aug. 14 outlined his parameters for ending the fighting.
The conditions for victory were listed as the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all 48 remaining hostages, the demilitarization of Gaza, Israeli security control and establishing an alternative civilian administration.
