Hamas leaders eliminated. Israelis strike back
5:25 PM EDT, October 10, 2023
There are "unprecedentedly intense attacks on the Gaza Strip" - reports BBC. The Israelis have eliminated two Hamas leaders. - We will reach them everywhere - announced the spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
On Tuesday, the Israelis eliminated Hamas Economy Minister Jawad Abu Shamala and Zakaria Abu Maamar, a member of the group's political bureau.
They perished in an air raid on the city of Khan Yunis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip - BBC reported. Hamas fighters "have nowhere to hide in Gaza" - Hagari emphasized, as quoted by Reuters.
BBC reports that the IDF continues to bombard the Gaza Strip, where 200 targets were destroyed overnight from Monday to Tuesday. A BBC reporter conveyed that these are the most intense air raids in 20 years, and the attacked areas are leveled to the ground. According to Reuters, the IDF is conducting the most serious aerial attacks in the entire history of Israel.
The IDF reported early Tuesday afternoon Eastern Time, that alarm sirens went off in Tel Aviv and other regions of the country. Earlier, Israeli forces announced that they had struck "hundreds of targets" in the Rimal district of Gaza City, where the Hamas government's ministries are located - reports Associated Press.
Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced that authorities will start distributing thousands of long guns in border towns inhabited by both Jewish and Arab populations on Tuesday. The first batch of guns to be given to Israelis will count 4,000 pieces, the next one - 6,000.
As Reuters comments, the arming of Jews in such locations was announced at a time when Israeli authorities fear that conflicts will arise there between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority, which is about 20 percent of the inhabitants.
Israeli authorities also denied information that rockets launched from the Gaza Strip hit the Ben Gurion International Airport. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces reported that the border with the Gaza Strip is now secured - reports BBC.
