IDF intensifies operations in Jabalya, with three more soldiers killed. Israel refutes WHO claim on medical supplies in southern Gaza.
By Joshua Marks, JNS
The Israel Defense Forces continued to expand its activities against Hamas in Gaza over the past 24 hours, reporting on Tuesday morning that troops were conducting operations in the Jabalya area.
Israeli forces were targeting Hamas strongholds and destroying terror infrastructure after completing the encirclement of the Jabalya camp in the north of the Strip, according to the IDF.
כוחות אוגדה 162 פועלים במרחב ג׳באליה, זאת לאחר שהשלימו את שלב כיתור המחנה. ביממה האחרונה הכוחות פעלו במעוזי חמאס במרחב והשמידו תשתיות טרור. הלוחמים סיכלו תשתיות טרור, איתרו אמצעי לחימה ומשגרים במבנים אזרחים, והכווינו כוחות אוויריים שתקפו מחבלים>> pic.twitter.com/L2NAyQED1q
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 5, 2023
The IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) conducted a targeted raid on a Hamas Internal Security Force command and control center in Jabalya, locating observation and control materials, weapons and maps.
On Monday, troops struck buildings used by Hamas’s elite “Nukhba” unit, which led the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel. Soldiers also killed Hamas terrorists and destroyed rockets found in the garden of a private residence in the northern Strip.
בפעילות משותפת עם שב״כ כוחות מילואים של חטיבה 551 ושייטת 13 פשטו על מבנה חמ"ל הביטחון הכללי של ארגון הטרור חמאס בג'באליה. בחמ"ל אותרו אמצעי תצפית ושליטה, אמצעי לחימה ומפות>> pic.twitter.com/bwjRzNDQUX
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 5, 2023
The Israeli Navy also struck “dozens” of terror targets, including compounds from which terrorists fired mortar shells at Israeli forces.
Israeli artillery and airstrikes continued throughout the Gaza Strip and especially in the southern city of Khan Younis overnight Monday, where troops were closing in on the Hamas stronghold, according to reports.
3 more fallen soldiers named
The IDF on Tuesday published the names of three more soldiers killed in action in the Gaza Strip after notifying their families. They are all from the 188th Armored Brigade’s 53rd Battalion:
Staff Sgt. Tuval Yaakov Tsanani, 20, from Kiryat Gat; Sgt. Yakir Yedidya Schenkolewski, 21, from Migdal Oz; and Cpt. Eitan Fisch, 23, from Peduel.
We are heartbroken to report that an additional 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in #Gaza during this current operation against #Hamas terrorists. May the memories and heroism of these brave #IDF soldiers forever be a blessing. 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/XHZD4SJjy7
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) December 5, 2023
At least 88 IDF soldiers have been killed in action in Gaza, at the Lebanon border and in Judea and Samaria since the start of the IDF ground operation in Gaza on Oct. 27; 404 Israeli soldiers have died since the war started on Oct. 7.
Israel rejects U.N. official’s claim
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed on Tuesday that the WHO had received instructions from the IDF to “remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use.”
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories repudiated the claim.
“The truth is that we didn’t ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant UN representatives,” it stated.
The truth is that we didn't ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant #UN representatives.
From a #UN official we would expect, at least, to be more accurate. https://t.co/ZrXQ6ecqcd— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 4, 2023
COGAT also criticized Ghebreyesus directly, tweeting, “[A] UN official we would expect, at least, to be more accurate.”
COGAT also reported that even as the fighting continues, another 180 humanitarian aid trucks were dispatched to the international aid organizations operating in Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt. The humanitarian aid trucks carried food, water, shelter equipment, and medical supplies.