Israel entered 2024 on Monday with more than 20 rockets fired by Hamas at southern and central regions. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted the majority of the projectiles, according to The Times of Israel. Sirens rang out in Ashdod, Sderot, Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Holon, Lod, and Modiin as the rockets arrived. The Magen David Adom ambulance service has not yet recorded any injuries resulting from this barrage.
Evacuation Orders in Gaza
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) asked residents in many parts of central Gaza to leave immediately while operations against Hamas continue, CNN reported. In a message posted in Arabic on X, the IDF urged people in 15 identified blocks south of Wadi Gaza to move to shelters. The regions include the Al-Bureij refugee camp. This directive aims to ensure civilian safety amidst the ongoing military engagements in the area.
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The IDF stated that people in the identified blocks “must immediately move to the shelters in Deir al-Balah.” The military imposed a temporary tactical local suspension of activities in the southern neighbourhood of Deir al-Balah from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for humanitarian purposes, CNN noted. The forces also urged people not to move along the central axis, the Salah Al-Din road, due to fighting in the Khan Younis area. The IDF will allow humanitarian movement through a bypass axis west of Khan Younis to facilitate the safe passage of civilians.
Tunnel Network Discovered Near Hospital
IDF troops located and destroyed three terror tunnel shafts belonging to Hamas near the Rantisi Hospital and a nearby high school on Wednesday. The shafts are dozens of metres deep and are linked by an underground network beneath the hospital and into Gaza City. The discovery highlights the complex infrastructure used by militant groups to evade detection and transport resources.
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According to the IDF, the shafts are connected by a wide underground network passing under the hospital, spanning several kilometres, and leading to strategic points in the heart of Gaza City. Recent weeks saw IDF soldiers, led by the 162nd Division’s 401st Brigade in collaboration with Flotilla 13 and the ‘Yahalom’ Unit, discover and search the shafts. This multi-branch effort demonstrates a coordinated approach to dismantling Hamas’ underground infrastructure.
‘Yahalom soldiers searched the region, as well as the shafts and tunnels, employing a variety of methods to map the topography of the tunnels and the linkages between the shafts. The unit is a sayeret unit of the Israeli Combat Engineering Corps. The operation revealed that Hamas used the hospital as a terrorist stronghold to connect and transfer terrorists and weapons throughout Gaza to be used against Israelis. This strategic use of civilian infrastructure poses significant challenges to the neutrality of medical facilities in conflict zones.