HAMAS HUNTERS
Israel sends in elite troops to Gaza as ‘second stage’ of war begins as PM vows to wipe out Hamas’ ‘stronghold of evil’
Phone and internet services were restored in Gaza today after more than 24 hours of darkness
THE "second stage" of war in Gaza has commenced with Israel sending its elite soldiers in to "destroy" Hamas and bring hostages home.
Hordes of soldiers charged into the Strip on Saturday night, following weeks of relentless airstrikes and a Friday-night attack on the terrorist group's underground bases.
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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday evening: "This is the second stage of the war whose goals are clear - to destroy Hamas' governing and military capabilities and to bring the hostages home."
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip says more than 8,000 people have died since Israel began its retaliation against Hamas' October 7 terror attack which killed 1,400 men, women, and children.
Israel's military operation continued in Gaza last night as Palestine fired more rockets into Israel.
The IDF announced this morning its fighter jets had attacked more than 450 military targets of Hamas throughout the Strip in 24 hours.
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Strikes were carried out near a hospital which Israel believes is used by the terrorists as a command centre - and killed a "large number" of people in two north Gazan refugee camps, says Hamas.
Armed clashes between Hamas and Israeli troops have now been reported in north-west Gaza, according to the BBC.
And the Palestinian Red Crescent says it has received warnings from Israeli authorities to immediately evacuate Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza "because they will bomb it".
The "second stage" of the war will focus on destroying Hamas' governing and military capabilities and reuniting 229 hostages with their families.
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It begun on Saturday evening with an expanding ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, which PM Benjamin Netanyahu stressed would "not clash in any way" with Israel's ability to return hostages.
The PM said Israel had entered "the stronghold of evil" and was fighting its "second war of independence" in what would be a "long" battle.
He added: "We will fight and we will not surrender. We will not withdraw. It will be a victory of good over evil as we are fighting for our life."
Israeli commanders have been deployed "all over the Gaza Strip", he said.
On Sunday, charity Save The Children reported more children had been killed in Gaza in just three weeks than had died annually across the world's conflict zones since 2019.
More than 3,257 children - including at least 3,195 in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank, and 29 in Israel - have been killed since October 7, according to the ministries of health in Gaza and Israel respectively.
Phone and internet connectivity in Gaza was only restored this morning after an outage which lasted more than 24 hours.
New footage shared by the IDF on Sunday afternoon showed troops and tanks travelling through northern Gaza.
The IDF wrote: "IAF aircraft, guided by IDF troops, struck Hamas structures.
"Anti-tank missile launch posts & observation posts were struck.
"Multiple terrorists were eliminated."
Dramatic footage showed the moment Israeli ground forces poured into Gaza on Friday night as lightning strikes by the IDF "wiped out 150 underground bases".
Two senior Hamas terror chiefs - Asem Abu Rakaba and Rateb Abu Tshaiban - and other high-ranking officials were killed in the attacks.
The Israeli Air Force also deployed powerful 5,000lb "Bunker Buster" bombs to destroy Hamas' intricate tunnel network where Hamas' command and control centres are based, according to some reports.
Known as GBU-28s, the laser-guided 19ft-long explosives were developed in the US and smash deep into the ground before detonating.
Israel’s chief military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari previously claimed hospitals in Gaza were being used by Hamas as military bases.
The group has dug a series of tunnels under the city's biggest medical complex, the 1,500-bed Al- Shifa Hospital.
This weekend has seen the heaviest bombing in three weeks of war, with the terrorists' lair battered from land, sea, and air.
Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee said on Saturday the IDF was "advancing in the stages of war" and expanding its ground operations.
The forces yesterday issued an urgent plea to residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to relocate south immediately.
Spokesman Daniel Hagari said: "The impending IDF operation is set to neutralise the threat of Hamas with precision and intensity.
"Humanity remains haunted by the massacre unleashed by Hamas on October 7, a massacre of innocent lives. Israeli men, women, children, and babies were beheaded, executed, raped, and burnt alive. We won't forget that.
"And the kidnapping of over 200 Israelis we will not forget."
He told the Gazan residents their "window to act is closing".
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a chilling message four days before Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israelis, it has been revealed.
The commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on October 3: "The Zionist regime is dying."
He added: "The usurper regime is coming to an end.
"Today, the Palestinian youth and the anti-oppression, anti-occupation movement in Palestine is more energetic, more alive, and more prepared than ever during the past 70 or 80 years.
"God willing, the movement will achieve its goals."
There is now mounting evidence that Tehran may have been directly involved in the planning and execution of the attack.
And fears are growing Iran-backed militias will unite and invade Israel after a sinister message appeared on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
A chilling mural of terrorist groups including Hamas and Hezbollah was this week painted on the Lebanese side of the wall.
It comes as Iran stages a massive war games with 200 helicopters and missile launchers dubbed "Authority 1402".
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Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army Abdolrahim Mousavi said "we are always ready to deal with threats".
The country is feared to potentially intervene in the Gaza conflict either directly or via its proxy terror groups.
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