Israel’s IDF pulls out northern Gaza, targets Hamas in center
The IDF did not make a public announcement, but it has concluded larger reinvasions of both Shejaia and Gaza City.
The reinvasion of Shejaia lasted a few weeks, whereas the reinvasion of Gaza City less than a week, having started only last Monday.
It was unclear why the IDF did not publicly announce concluding operations in those areas as it had in most areas it was leaving up until this point of the war, but it could be a sign of various strategy shifts for “Stage 3” of the war to lower intensity conflict.
In fact, the IDF only announced its reinvasions of the two areas when Palestinian reports started to come in about new IDF force penetrations, such that it is possible that the military wants to operate more freely in Gaza without being followed as closely.
This could be for both military tactical and political reasons, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having still avoided announcing the slowing of the war, even as it has in fact slowed substantially.
In other parts of Gaza, the IDF kept up air strikes and lower-grade ground attacks in different parts of Gaza.
In Nuseirat in central Gaza, the IDF attacked a new makeshift Hamas command center which had been established in an UNRWA school building, an increasing pattern for the terror group.
IDF intelligence identified the Abu-Arivan UNRWA school as a key location for Hamas to hide, organize, and plan future attacks against Israeli forces.
According to the IDF, it undertook a variety of measures before the attack to reduce potential civilian harm, including using precise and smaller munitions.
The military warned Hamas that it will not grant it immunity just because the terror group systematically abuses civilian locations to try to hide behind “human shields.”
In Rafah in deep southern Gaza, IDF Division 162 killed an anti-tank missile cell which was trying to ambush IDF troops.
Terrorists killed in northern Gaza
In Gaza City in northern Gaza, the Alexandroni Brigade did still kill some Hamas terrorists in smaller skirmishes and an airstrike killed a cell of Hamas forces who were trying to lay an improvised explosive ambush on near one of the roadsides, but these activities were considered much smaller in scope than the column of tanks which penetrated last week.
IDF forces also continued to destroy Hamas tunnels in a variety of areas.
In the North, the IDF in multiple rounds last night and on Sunday struck six different Hezbollah areas in southern Lebanon.
The IDF did not kill additional significant Hezbollah commanders or attack beyond southern Lebanon.
According to the IDF, Hezbollah sent a drone to attack northern Israel, but it was shot down by Israeli air defenses.
There were no reports of rocket attacks by Hezbollah.
Early Monday morning, the IDF also attacked a number of Syrian military assets, including military installations connected to drone and aerial attacks.
The IDF said these attacks were responses to the launching of two drones by Syria toward Israel on Saturday, though Israel did shoot down the drones.
Last week, the IDF also attacked Syrian military installations which Hezbollah was trying to use to launch surprise attacks on Israel or to collect intelligence regarding Israel.
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