Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday night hailed intensifying military activity in the Gaza Strip, saying the “decisive phase” in the war against Hamas was advancing.
More than 750,000 Palestinians had evacuated from Gaza City southward despite Hamas threats, he said, adding that the movement continues.
“Terrorist towers in the city have been demolished and terrorist infrastructure has been destroyed,” he continued, noting that autonomous vehicles were being operated ahead of the forces to neutralize explosive devices.
“IDF soldiers are fighting bravely, thwarting terrorists and taking control of more and more neighborhoods and areas in Gaza,” he added.
“If Hamas does not release all the hostages and disarm, Gaza will be destroyed and Hamas will be annihilated. We will not stop until all the war goals are achieved,” he said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Friday inspected areas in the southern Gaza Strip, stressing, “We are doing everything to return the hostages quickly and defeat Hamas.
“We are conducting a central operational effort in the northern Strip and Gaza City. We have severely damaged Hamas’s capabilities, we have collapsed its governing capacity, and now the enemy is operating in guerrilla-like patterns,” said Zamir.
The military continues to expand ground and aerial operations in the Gaza City area, the IDF announced in a statement Sunday morning.
“Over the past day, IDF troops dismantled military structures and combat compounds in joint operations with the Israeli Air Force, targeting military infrastructure and eliminating several terrorists operating in the area,” according to the military announcement.
During counter-terror activity in the central Strip, IDF soldiers identified five terrorists firing an anti-tank missile toward a building in which the troops were located. No Israelis were injured in the attack, the IDF stated, adding that an IAF aircraft “swiftly eliminated” the cell.
In the southern Strip, ground troops killed terrorists while dismantling observation equipment and “military infrastructure” in the area, it said.
Over the past 24 hours, the Air Force struck approximately 140 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including “military structures, terrorists and additional military infrastructure,” per the army.
On Saturday, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced that Muhammad Ahmad Yusuf Al-Jamal, a Hamas terrorist who killed Israel Police Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora during a hostage rescue mission in June 2024, was killed in a targeted airstrike in the Strip.
Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s “Yamam” National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was killed on June 8, 2024, when Israeli forces rescued four hostages from the central Gaza Strip—Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. The daring rescue mission was subsequently named “Operation Arnon” in his honor.
“Muhammad Al-Jamal was the terrorist who killed Arnon Zamora ... as the force breached one of the buildings where the hostages were being held,” the IDF said on Saturday, adding that he also served as a guard.
The precision strike that targeted the Hamas operative also killed Sari Idris Muhammad Al-Aqrab, who was described by the IDF as “a Hamas terrorist who infiltrated Israel on October 7 and was close to Al-Jamal.”
