Israel Defence Minister says troops fighting 'in the heart of Gaza City'

Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that the Israeli forces are fighting “in the heart of Gaza City.” Speaking at a press conference, Gallant said, “We are in the heart of Gaza City.” He added, “Gaza is the largest terrorist base ever built. We are going to destroy Hamas.” Major General Yaron Finkelman, commanding officer of the Southern Command of the Israeli Defence Forces, said, “For the first time in decades, IDF is fighting in the heart of Gaza City. At the heart of terrorism,” reported Reuters. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas over their shock attack, launching a campaign in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 10,300 people, mostly civilians, said the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The war began on October 7 when Israel launched a substantial military operation in response to a deadly attack by Hamas in southern Israel. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday there will be no fuel delivered to the Gaza Strip and no ceasefire in Israel’s fighting with Hamas unless hostages seized by the Palestinian militants are freed. In a televised statement marking the first month of Israel’s war with Hamas he said there would be “no entry of gasoline… no ceasefire without the release of our hostages”. Additionally, Netanyahu in an interview with ABC News said that Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza “for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas and expressed openness to “little pauses” in the current fighting to facilitate the release of hostages. Meanwhile, The United States said Tuesday it opposed a new long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel, whose Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed “overall security” of the territory following the war. “Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters, reported AFP. According to Israel, Hamas militants killed some 1,400 people – mostly civilians – and seized more than 240 hostages, in the worst attack on the nation since its founding in 1948. With inputs from agencies