Day 28: Fight intensifies as IDF kills Hamas commander during operations in encircled Gaza City

Israel Air Force fighter jets, acting on precise intelligence from the IDF and Shin Bet, killed Mustafa Dalul, the commander of the Sabra Tel al-Hawa Battalion.

Since the beginning of the war, Dalul took a central part in managing the combat against IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.

Dalul, who has been a member of Hamas for several years, held a number of positions in the Hamas battalion and brigade of Gaza City.

During fighting in Gaza City, Israeli Air Force fighter jets and IDF artillery, directed by ground troops, killed a number of terrorists operating in the area.

During searches of the area near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, the troops located weapons, intelligence material, an AK-47 rifle, a submachine gun, magazines, grenades, explosive devices, RPG, communicationsand maps.

Israeli soldiers from the Yahalom Unit exposed and neutralized Hamas’ terror tunnels during a special operation, in cooperation with combat engineers from Battalion 7107, the Armored Corps, the Nahal Brigade and the Negev Brigade.

On Friday morning, the troops uncovered tunnel shafts, rigged them with explosives and were able to neutralize the Hamas terror tunnels.

The IDF announced on Friday morning that the deaths of the four soldiers during yesterday's fighting has brought the total number of soldiers killed since the beginning of the ground invasion to 23.

In addition, two other fighters were reportedly seriously wounded during combat in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party, visited the IDF Central Command headquarters on Friday morning.

“We are fighting on all fronts, and we are harming Hamas wherever it is,” Gantz said. “There are not, and will not be, cities of refuge – not in Gaza, not in Judea and Samaria, and not in any place near or far.”

IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari released a statement in English, reiterating that the IDF is at war with Hamas, not the civilians of Gaza.

“I want to make something very clear,” Hagari stated. “Israel is at war with Hamas. Israel is not at war with the civilians in Gaza.”

“We are facilitating the entry of water, food, medicine and medical equipment into Gaza. Millions of liters of water per day flow from Israel into Gaza. Israel is not at war with the civilians of Gaza.”

(Hagari video)

According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, 68 trucks of humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Border crossing near Egypt on Thursday.

The IDF also released a recorded conversation between a medical official and a Hamas member, demonstrating that Hamas has large fuel reserves, and that it controls the fuel reserves in Gaza, including those in the Shifa Hospital.

The number of captives has been updated to 241, according to the IDF.

There were additional reports that the U.S. had flown a drone over Gaza in an attempt to gather information about captives.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday morning to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the time of publication, they were in a private meeting, with an extended meeting with other Israeli leaders expected to follow.