Amid relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the devastating militant attack last week, the Israeli Air Force on Saturday said that they have eliminated Murad Abu Murad, the head of Hamas’ aerial wing, in overnight strikes.

In a post on social media platform X, the Israeli Air Force said, “Last night, IAF fighter jets conducted wide-scale strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. These included dozens of Hamas terror targets as well as “Nukhba” terrorist operatives that were in a staging ground in the Gaza Strip.”

According to the Air Force, Abu Murad was “largely responsible” for the brutal and unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas militants that has killed hundreds of people. It claimed that Abu Murad had directed the militants to launch last week’s attack.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force said in a separate post that it identified residents moving towards southern Gaza, in line with its ultimatum calling for 1.1 million people to evacuate within 24 hours to root out Hamas militants hiding in tunnels.

It also said that a terrorist cell had attempted to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon, and that “a number of terrorists” were killed in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike. “The IDF has identified a trend of residents moving towards the south, even though the Hamas terrorist organization tried to deny the move in order to use these residents as a human shield,” it said.

The situation in Gaza and Israel

Palestinians have started fleeing from northern Gaza in a massive exodus after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for the population of 1.1 million people, amid ground raids in the territory to root out Hamas which can possibly lead to more deaths.

Israeli tanks and artillery have already approached the Gaza border in anticipation of a possible ground offensive. IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said that they are “getting ready for the next stage of operations.”

According to Hamas officials, around 70 people, mostly women and children, were killed during Israeli airstrikes as they were trying to rush out of the war-torn Gaza city. Hamas’ media office says the cars were struck in three places as they headed south from Gaza City. It was not immediately clear who the target of the airstrikes was, or whether militants were among the passengers. 

Although Israel’s military said it planned to target underground Hamas hideouts around Gaza City, fears have emerged among Palestinians and Egyptians that Israel is working to push Gaza’s people out through the southern border with Egypt.

The relentless Israeli strikes over the past week have leveled large swaths of neighborhoods, magnifying the suffering of Gaza, which has also been sealed off from food, water and medical supplies, and under a virtual total power blackout. Israel’s evacuation order has been criticised by many organisations, including the UN and WHO.

The week-long war has already claimed over 3,200 lives on both sides and sent tensions soaring across the region. The death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rose to more than 1,900, more than half under the age of 18, the ministry said. On the other hand, over 1,300 people have died in Israel from the Hamas attack since last week.

(with agency inputs)

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