Israel accuses Hamas of ‘war crimes’ and reveals new evidence terror group uses hospitals as military HQs – as IDF says it has ‘fully encircled Gaza City’

The Israeli Defense Forces say it has “completely surrounded Gaza City” and carried out “widespread strikes against terrorist infrastructure” underground and above ground after revealing what it considers further evidence of Gaza’s tunnel network. Hamas’s “City of Terror”.

Amid reports of “violent clashes” between Israeli forces and Hamas, the Hamas government in Gaza claimed that Israeli forces had carried out “intense shelling” around several hospitals in the northern Strip. Gaza, shortly after telecommunications were cut off.

Gaza reportedly suffered its third total communications blackout since the war began, while the Israeli army announced it had surrounded Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip in two.

“Today there is northern Gaza and southern Gaza,” said IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, calling it an “important step” in the war against Hamas. Israeli media reported that troops were expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours.

This came as Israel accused Hamas of war crimes, revealing new evidence that it said proves the terrorist group is using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as military bases while preventing civilians from escape.

At another civilian facility, Sheikh Hamad Hospital, known as the “Qatari” hospital, Hagari showed photos of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli troops.

Footage shows what IDF says are entrances to Hamas tunnels beneath hospital

“Hamas is weak without human shields,” Hagari said when releasing previously classified intelligence that he said had been shared with partner agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom.

He showed aerial photos of Hamas rocket launch pads near the “Indonesian” hospital in Gaza, and said the terrorists knew the IDF could not launch an airstrike resulting in collateral damage to the hospital.

Amid a crippling shortage of fuel for hospitals and homes, Hagari said other documents shared by the IDF show “there is no shortage of fuel in Gaza.” It’s in the hands of Hamas. They steal it from hospitals.

He added that some of this fuel was stored under the Indonesian hospital, which was just 75 meters from a launch site, and that the building was in fact built on top of the “City of terror” of Hamas, the spider’s web of tunnels beneath the enclave.

There was also a recording of a Gaza official telling a colleague: “They say there is a fuel shortage in Gaza, they are liars, liars,” in a recorded conversation, which Hagari said that the United States had verified.

At another civilian facility, Sheikh Hamad Hospital, known as the “Qatari” hospital, Hagari showed what he said was photographic evidence of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli troops.

It also showed video footage of Hamas terrorists shooting at Israelis from inside the hospital.

There were video and audio clips purportedly showing that Hamas was actively preventing the evacuation of civilians from the northern Gaza Strip, which the Israelis encouraged by dropping 1.5 million pamphlets, 6 million pre-recorded phone calls and 4.4 million text messages.

Israeli army flares light up skies over northern Gaza Strip

Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers and tanks take up positions in the heavily bombed Gaza Strip.

In one, believed to be a recorded call to a resident of the Jabalia refugee camp, an IDF officer told them in Arabic: “There will be no safe place.”

He explained that some of this fuel was stored under the Indonesian hospital, which was just 75 meters from a launch site, and that the building was in fact built on top of the “City of terror” of Hamas, the spider’s web of tunnels beneath the enclave.

Hagari showed photos of Hamas vehicles blocking the exit route from northern Gaza and said its fighters had fired anti-tank weapons at Israeli troops who opened a humanitarian corridor to allow further evacuations.

The new intelligence came as the Israeli military said it had split the besieged coastal enclave in two.

The troops “have reached the coastline and are holding it,” he added.

“There are now widespread strikes against terrorist infrastructure – underground and above,” Hagari said.

Dramatic images on Sunday evening showed huge fireballs rising above the northern city of Gaza, which Hamas blamed on Israeli bombing.

“For more than an hour, intense bombardments have been taking place around hospitals,” said Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government press service.

The area around the largest hospital in the Palestinian territory, Al-Shifa, was the scene of particularly violent strikes, according to Marouf.

The bombing came after the Israeli military once again accused Hamas of using the hospitals in its military campaign against Israel.

“Hamas places forces and weapons inside, under and around schools, mosques, homes and UN facilities,” Hagari told reporters on Sunday.

Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza Strip

A photo taken from Sderot, along the border with the Gaza Strip, on November 5, 2023, shows smoke and fire rising above the Palestinian enclave during an Israeli strike.

Buildings destroyed in Gaza City on November 5, 2023

“One of Hamas’ worst war crimes is the use of hospitals to hide its terrorist infrastructure,” he added. Hamas has repeatedly rejected this accusation.

Asked what action Israel would take against the Hamas facilities it had identified, he said: “I can’t say more, but it must end,” adding: “Israel respects international law.”

Israel has relentlessly pounded the besieged Gaza Strip in its battle to destroy Hamas, razing entire city blocks and killing more than 9,700 people, most of them women and children, according to the government-led Health Ministry. Hamas.

The attack on Gaza came after Hamas militants crossed the border on October 7 and killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel continued brutal attack on Hamas overnight, with IDF planes hitting ‘terrorist base’

As Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues into its 30th day, the conflict threatens to spill over into all-out war on another front.

As daily cross-border firefights continue between Hezbollah and the Israeli military across the Israel-Lebanon border, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said today that his army was ready to go on the offensive.

“We have set ourselves the goal of restoring a significantly better security situation at the borders, not only in the Gaza Strip,” Halevi said today during an assessment at the 210th Division in northern Israel.

“We are ready at any moment to go on the offensive in the north. We understand that this can happen and we trust you in the strength of the defense here,” he added.

Tensions are rising just a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to escalate the war against Israel, warning of a “real battle.”

The leader of the powerful group praised the flooding in Alaqsa – the name Hamas used for its brutal assault last month.

He said the “glorious jihadist operation” had led to an “earthquake” in the Jewish state, revealed the weakness of Israel and its army and established a new historic phase in the battle.

“Your fleet in the Mediterranean does not scare us… We are ready to confront the fleet with which you threaten us,” Nasrallah said, addressing the United States. “Anyone who wants to prevent a regional war must quickly end the aggression against Gaza.”

The United States is “preventing a ceasefire and an end to aggression,” he added.

His heavily armed group, backed by Iran, carried out simultaneous attacks on Israeli positions along the Lebanese border, while residents of southern Lebanon reported the fiercest Israeli strikes ever.

The Israeli military said its planes struck Hezbollah targets in retaliation for their attack and combined the airstrikes with artillery and tank bombardments.