Israel may ‘intensify’ bombing ahead of ceasefire as Hamas morale plummets

news

By Alex Oliveira

Israeli military officials said their bombardment of Gaza could be “intense” in the hours before a four-day truce began early Friday morning – with reports suggesting Hamas morale had plummeted, causing many terrorists to retreat south.

“[It’s] Business as usual,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters on Thursday.

Artillery airstrikes “may intensify” in the coming hours, added Regt NBC News.

Israeli bombs reportedly fell on Gaza’s northern and southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday. BBCHeavy fighting is still going on in the northern parts of the city.

Meanwhile, some Hamas terrorists dropped their guns and fled south as the IDF continued to advance and successfully exterminated senior officers. The Jerusalem Post reported.

The cease-fire – brokered by Qatar, home to top officials of the Hamas terror group – is set to begin at 7 a.m. local time Friday (12 a.m. ET).

150 Palestinian prisoners and 50 hostages in exchange for truckloads of humanitarian aid and fuel are expected to be handed over from 4 p.m.

Amid the carnage, stray dogs have begun eating dead bodies strewn among the rubble of Gaza City, Qatari officials said in a critical assessment of the situation on the ground.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said dogs were eating the corpses of dead people on the streets. told The Independent.

“We are facing an unprecedented humanitarian situation,” Al-Ansari added.

The apocalyptic scenario echoes recent testimony from the head of the UK-based non-profit Medical Aid for Palestinians.

“With the mortuary closed, dozens of bodies are piled up in front of the hospital, decomposed and eaten by wild dogs – nobody can move them for burial,” Melanie Ward, chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, testified in England. Earlier this month, Parliament’s International Development Committee The Telegraph reported.

The Hamas-run government says 14,500 people have been killed across the Gaza Strip since it retaliated against the terrorist group in its covert offensive, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and 240 hostages.

Areas of Gaza are protected by Israeli troops, who regularly comb through an extensive network of tunnels under the city to root out terrorists.

One of those mines was reportedly found under Al-Shifa hospital last week, indicating the terror group’s exploitation of international humanitarian law to protect civilian medical centers during wartime.

“The Hamas terror tunnel network is located under the hospital [has] Exploited electricity and resources taken from the hospital. “In addition, Hamas has stored a large amount of weapons inside the hospital and on the hospital premises,” the Israeli military said.

The IDF has released videos of weapons piled up behind an MRI machine at a hospital.

“Also, after the October 7th Hamas massacre, Hamas terrorists took refuge in the hospital, some of them taking hostages from Israel with them.”

Hamas has denied the accusation.

However, to further support their claims, Israel on Wednesday released detailed footage and images showing a rare glimpse into Hamas’ 300-mile-long underground tunnel system through an entrance discovered at Al-Shifa Hospital.

On Thursday, Israel confirmed that the hospital director, Dr. Abu Salmiya, was stopped at a checkpoint and detained for questioning that “shows the following evidence that Al-Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, acted as a Hamas command and control center.”

The hospital, meanwhile, has evacuated its patients and staff to the south ahead of the ceasefire.