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ISRAEL’s military claims to have blitzed 600 terror targets inside Gaza in the past 24 hours in their biggest bombardment yet.
New footage shows Israeli tanks and troops storming through the wreckage of the besieged enclave as Israel Defence Forces plough on with their “second stage” of war.
The last two nights have seen Israel ferociously pound the Gaza Strip with an increased relentlessness as the IDF expands their ground operations inside the enclave.
On Saturday night, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared: “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.”
Last night, the IDF claimed to have hit over 600 targets – an increase on the 450 targets they reportedly hit on Sunday.
The IDF has released new footage that appears to show Israeli armoured units advancing in Gaza, with soldiers seen holding assault rifles.
The video then shows a tank opening fire and buildings burning.
The second piece of footage shows an aerial view of buildings in Gaza, with a number of them being hit by Israeli ordnance in terrifyingly large explosions.
“The IDF continued during the night to expand ground operations in the Gaza Strip,” they announced.
“During the night the forces eliminated Hamas terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure and military compounds.”
They continued: “In clashes with terrorists in the Gaza Strip, IDF fighters eliminated dozens of terrorists who had barricaded themselves in buildings and tried to attack the forces.
“During one of the incidents, an aircraft directed by the fighters in the field attacked a meeting building of the terrorist organisation Hamas, which contained over 20 terrorists.”
Fighter jets reportedly dropped devastating 5,000lb bunker-buster bombs to penetrate Hamas boltholes deep underground in the tunnel network dubbed the “Gaza Metro”.
It comes as the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said over 8,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment so far.
On Sunday, 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 reportedly killed since the war began.
The IDF warned Gaza City residents on the weekend that the area is now a battlefield, as it stepped up its air campaign against the terror group.
Fighter jets dropped leaflets reading: “Shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza governorate are not safe.”
One million civilians were urged to move south but hundreds of thousands are thought to remain.
Israel declared war on Hamas following the October 7 attacks in which 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered and some 230 were kidnapped and dragged deep into Gaza.
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Meanwhile, the IDF today said it carried out air strikes on military infrastructure inside Syria as fears grow that its war against Hamas could spur a broader regional conflict.
“A short time ago, an IDF fighter jet attacked the launchers from where overnight attacks originated towards Israeli territory,” the military said, indicating it hit “military infrastructure in Syrian territory”.
And in Israel’s fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah, The Sun witnessed crack Israeli troops in a stand-off with the terror group.
Tanks and infantry were seen in position along the northern border with Lebanon — yards from where Hezbollah rocket teams engage in daily skirmishes.
“This is where the real war will be,” an Israeli commander disclosed.
“The war in Gaza’s nothing compared to what could happen here. This will be different and will go on much longer.”
It comes as a further 33 aid vehicles were reportedly allowed to pass into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday.
Aid supplies to Gaza have been choked since Israel began a siege of the densely populated enclave that is now suffering from a communications blackout as phone lines, radio and internet have been shut off.
It is the largest number of vehicles to be allowed to cross the Rafah border since the beginning of the conflict but humanitarian workers have said that it still falls short of what is required.
Karim Khan, a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, said that the ICC had “active investigations ongoing” into war crimes allegedly committed in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
He added: “There should not be any impediment to humanitarian relief supplies going to civilians.”
Jordan has reportedly asked the United States to deploy Patriot air defence systems to shore up its border defence amid rising tensions in the region.
US President Joe Biden reportedly spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The White House said in a statement: “The president reiterated that Israel has every right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism and underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians.”
It also comes as Iran’s supreme leader issued a chilling message only four days before Hamas brutally murdered 1,400 Israeli men, women, and children.
The head of state of Iran and commander-in-chief of its armed forces, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said: “The Zionist regime is dying.”
In the post on X/Twitter, on October 3, Khamenei 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.”
