Israeli troops press marketing campaign in opposition to Hamas in Gaza on anniversary of Oct. 7 assault
Israel launched fresh clearing operations into a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip over the weekend in an attempt to disrupt efforts to reconstitute Hamas units that have been decimated by a year’s worth of heavy fighting.
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces moved into the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City. The IDF was last there in May 2024 where it encountered “significant resistance” from three Hamas battalions, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank.
The anniversary finds Israel battling on multiple fronts in the fallout from the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist ambush, fighting Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon, attacking Palestinian militants in the West Bank, and even contemplating a strike against Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s recent bombing campaign. The weekend’s action showed that despite a massive and intense campaign in Gaza, Hamas still represents a military and security challenge for Israeli forces.
Hamas has reportedly re-armed and reorganized itself as a fighting force since IDF troops withdrew from Jabalia. Israeli press outlets are reporting that the IDF estimates that thousands of original Hamas fighters, along with thousands of new and poorly trained Hamas recruits, are still operating in the northern Gaza Strip, the ISW said Sunday.
“The IDF stated that it would operate around Jabalia for as long as required in order to thoroughly destroy Hamas infrastructure there,” the ISW said. “Israeli forces have engaged dozens of Palestinian fighters around Jabalia since entering the area.”
IDF officials on Monday revealed that they conducted what they described as a “precise strike” on Hamas operatives inside a command and control center located inside the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
“These command and control centers were used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the Israeli military said on its Telegram messaging page. “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information.”
Operating inside a hospital is a “further example of the Hamas terrorist organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law,” Israeli officials said.
“The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas in defense of the citizens of Israel,” the IDF said.
