Twenty-five ‘terror towers’ toppled at start of Gaza City offensive

Israeli forces took down 25 “terror towers” in Gaza City at the start of expanded ground operations in the last Hamas stronghold on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

Katz warned in the X post that if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages and lay down its weapons, then “Gaza will be destroyed and turned into a monument to the rapists and murderers of Hamas.”

The defense minister also wrote that “to remove any sniper threat above the maneuvering forces, terrorists were neutralized and terror infrastructures were destroyed. Gaza residents were required to move south for their protection.”

Also on Wednesday, the military struck a Hamas weapons storage facility containing explosive devices intended to target IDF troops in the area, the IDF said in a Thursday update.

Israeli forces continued to operate in the areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Over the past 24 hours, troops eliminated terrorists and dismantled dozens of military targets, including observation posts and tunnel shafts.

Hamas has launched 3,797 rockets from Gaza City at Israeli civilians since the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre that started the war, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

“Bunkered down in Gaza City, Palestinian Hamas has launched thousands of rockets on Israeli civilians since October 7. Israel will protect its people and dismantle Hamas,” the ministry wrote in an X post Wednesday, referring to the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that sparked the war.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) posted to X on Wednesday that earlier in the day, 550 Gaza residents had exited the territory for various destinations, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Romania and other E.U. member states.

COGAT noted that most of the departees were patients and their companions.

“So far, more than 5,000 residents have left the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Allenby Crossing or Ramon Airport,” COGAT said. “We would like to clarify: The exit of Gazans is dependent on a receiving country. Many countries are taking part in this effort, and we will continue facilitating departures based on requests from those countries.”