Israel now controls over 75 per cent of Gaza Strip

Hundreds of Israeli Air Force fighter jets and other aircraft, as well as Israeli naval forces, have been involved in strikes on Hamas targets, including senior commanders and terrorists who took part in the October 7 invasion of southern Israel that started the war.

The most significant strike, according to the IDF, was the May 13 operation in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza that eliminated Mohammed Sinwar, the head of the terrorist organization’s “military wing," Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, and Mahdi Quara, the commander of Hamas’s South Khan Yunis Battalion.

Five IDF divisions operating simultaneously across the coastal enclave have dismantled terror tunnels, eliminated terrorist cells and neutralized Hamas strongholds above and below ground, according to the military.

According to the IDF, the expanded territorial hold achieved during "Operation Gideon's Chariots" under the Southern Command has intensified pressure on Hamas, creating more opportunities to strike at its remaining capabilities and undermine its chain of command, as well as laying the groundwork for the next stages of the operation.

IDF troops first entered Gaza on October 27, 2023, 20 days after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said: "Ahead of the approval of the plans for the operation in Gaza City, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed to shorten the timelines for taking control of the last terrorist strongholds and for the defeat of Hamas.

"The Prime Minister expresses his deep appreciation to the reserve soldiers who were mobilised and to their families, as well as to all IDF soldiers. Together we will prevail."

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in a Wednesday press briefing that preliminary actions on the outskirts of Gaza City were already underway, including in the Zeitoun and Jabalia areas.

Defrin highlighted that in recent days troops had discovered a Gaza City tunnel containing weapons, and emphasized that more soldiers would be joining the operation in the coming days.

He also detailed humanitarian efforts taking place to protect Gaza's civilian population, with expansion of the humanitarian area in southern Gazan underway, led by COGAT, ahead of an expected influx of non-combatants.

"Additional aid distribution centres will be established. This approach will sever the population's dependence on Hamas," said Defrin, referring to humanitarian aid distribution.

Before troops enter Gaza City, some 800,000 to 1 million residents will be evacuated south along a humanitarian route to the al-Mawasi area in Rafah. There will be two additional field hospitals and four more Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution centres set up, bringing the total GHF aid sites to eight, according to Israel's Channel 12 News. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said recently the plan was to scale up GHF sites to 16.

The spokesperson also provided an update on a serious incident in southern Khan Yunis earlier on Wednesday, in which Kfir Brigade troops thwarted a terrorist attack on a brigade post.

More than 15 terrorists came out of a tunnel shaft and opened fire on troops, including with rocket-propelled grenades. Israeli forces killed nine of the terrorists and wounded several others. In the same incident, terrorists managed to enter a building where troops were located. The terrorists were eliminated. The IDF is investigating how the terrorists got inside the structure and will draw the necessary lessons, according Defrin.

One soldier was seriously wounded in the battle, the spokesperson said.

A total of 898 soldiers have been killed on all fronts since the war began.

Defrin also emphasised that in nearly two years of war, Hamas has turned from a military terrorist organization into "a battered and bruised guerrilla organization," and that degradation of the terror group's capabilities will continue in the Gaza City operation.

"We will deepen the damage to Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization," said Defrin. "We will deepen the damage to the terror infrastructure above and below the ground and sever the population's dependence on Hamas."