Gaza siege concludes: intense bombardment in the north
10:22 AM EDT, November 3, 2023
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that they had successfully surrounded Gaza City, isolating it from the southern parts of the Gaza Strip. From Thursday night into Friday morning, Israel significantly ramped up its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, with a particular focus on the city of Beit Hanun.
Since October 7, the IDF has reportedly struck over 12 thousand Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, according to local media citing IDF statements.
"We are at the zenith of the battle"
- We are at the zenith of the battle. We have achieved impressive successes and have surpassed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing - stated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a press release from his office on Thursday.
Israel is intensifying raids on the northern segment of Gaza near the city of Beit Hanun. Experts, quoted by the BBC, suggest that the aim of Israel is to sever the northern region of the Gaza Strip.
Missiles rained on Gaza for 30 minutes
During the late evening hours, the bombardment intensity on the northern Gaza Strip notably heightened. Loud echoes of explosions filled the air, and the sky was illuminated by flashes. A CNN reporter, positioned in the town of Sderot on the Israeli side of the border, observed missile projectiles falling on Gaza for over thirty minutes. The flashes in the sky since October 7 have been the brightest, apparently originating from the Beit Hanun area. This city, less densely populated than Gaza City, was also the primary target of the Israeli military's operations in previous campaigns.
The BBC reported that the sounds of explosions and drone noises were still detectable over Gaza at dawn. According to David Kilculen, a guerrilla warfare expert quoted by the BBC, the Israeli military aims to cut off a section of territory in the northern Gaza Strip where larger concentrations of Hamas forces are assumed to be located. Kilculen anticipates that the conflict between Hamas and Israel will follow a similar pattern to the Battle for Mosul, which occurred between the Iraqi army and Islamic State forces in 2016-17. The expert expressed concerns that civilians, previously urged by Israel to evacuate the northern part of the Gaza Strip, might still be present in the area.
