Live Updates
Israeli soldiers are moving deeper into northern Gaza as battles with Hamas intensify. Pictured: an Israeli soldier runs past an M109 howitzer mobile artillery cannon at a position near Moshav Sha’al in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on April 22, 2021.
AFP / JALAA MAREY
As the Israel-Hamas war enters the 39th day, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the Palestinian terror group has “lost control of Gaza” as a photo on social media showed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops from the Golani Brigade inside the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City.
The IDF said Hamas used the basement of a hospital in Gaza to house hostages, but the exact number of hostages who are allegedly held in the area remains unclear.
Meanwhile, the White House sought to clarify President Joe Biden’s comments that Gaza’s largest hospital “must be protected,” saying the president was referring to “this extra burden that faces the IDF as they go into Gaza – because Hamas does shelter themselves behind civilian infrastructure.”
Israeli forces continue to exchange fire with Hezbollah terrorists in the northern border with Lebanon amid fears of the Israel-Palestine conflict igniting a wider conflagration across the Middle East.
Hamas operatives launched a surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people and abducting over 200 individuals who are being held in Gaza. Israel has vowed to crush the Palestinian terror group while continuously opening evacuation passages for northern Gaza residents to move to the safer south.
