IDF preps for ‘intensive night’ of Gaza airstrikes as two Thai workers killed

The Israeli military is gearing up for an intense night of airstrikes as it prepares to hit new locations of Hamas’s underground “Metro” complex.

IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said that the IDF has “an intensive night ahead of us” and will strike “new locations” of the sprawling network in two other sections of the Gaza Strip that have not yet been hit over the past four nights.

He made the comments after a large mortar barrage towards the Eshkol Regional Council killed two Thai workers and several civilians along with a soldier injured after a rare lull in rocket fire.

At least 10 civilians were wounded, four of them seriously following a barrage of over 50 mortars that hit the Eshkol Regional Council. The two Thai workers died on their way to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center.

A 19-year-old soldier was also wounded with shrapnel wounds to his upper body when a mortar hit the Erez Crossing where his unit was assisting in transferring humanitarian aid shipments to the Gaza Strip. He was transferred to Barzilai Hospital in stable condition.

Israel had temporarily reopened the Kerem Shalom Crossing to allow for the transfer of truckloads of fuel, medicine, animal feed and fuel tanks to the Gaza Strip. 

According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), “the entry of the trucks was coordinated following the request of the international community and approved by the Minister of Defense this morning” and following the mortar barrage, Kerem Shalom was closed.

Dozens of rockets were also launched at Gaza border communities as well as the southern cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba.

Following the salvo, the IDF said that it had struck an underground launch site and rocket launchers belonging to Hamas in the Al-Moazi refugee camp in the central part of the Strip and another two rocket launchers in the northern and southern part of the coastal enclave.

Earlier in the day, the military said it struck a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) cell preparing to launch rockets toward Israel from central Gaza. It also bombed another 120 targets over the past 24 hours including 10 rocket launchers.

According to Zilberman, the majority of the strikes were focused in the wealthy Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.

Despite calls for a ceasefire, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the IDF has “thousands” more targets left to strike in the Strip.

“No person, area, or neighborhood in Gaza is immune. We have thousands of more attack targets that are only further accumulating. The IDF has many plans to continue striking Hamas and the fighting won’t stop until we bring about complete and long-term calm,” he said while touring a navy base in the southern port city of Ashdod.

“The international community also needs to understand that it was the Hamas terror group that opened fire and that is continuing to fire indiscriminately toward civilian populations, and it bears responsibility and is paying the price,” he added.

Gantz on Tuesday spoke to his American counter Lloyd Austin and told him that Hamas continues to fire on civilians and the military operation, that “has achieved significant military achievements in recent days” will continue “with the aim of bringing long-term peace.” 

Prior to the conversation between the two officials, senior members of Israel’s defense establishment provided classified information to Pentagon officials indicating Hamas military activity that had been carried out from the Al-Jala office building that was attacked a few days ago. The building housed the offices of Associated Press and Al Jazeera.

The deadly barrages came after a rare lull in the violence overnight despite a threat by Hamas that they would fire on Tel Aviv should the IDF continue to strike residential buildings, including high-rises.

Since the beginning of the fighting close to 3,500 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, with some 500 launches falling short and landing inside the coastal enclave. Magen David Adom reported that 12 people have died since the beginning of the fighting and over 330 have been injured.

IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters on Tuesday morning that the IDF continued to carry out strikes against Hamas and PIJ targets overnight, including 10 to 12 multi-barrel rocket launchers, six of which were ready to be fired toward Israel’s Gush Dan Region.

A total of 65 launchers, which can fire between four and nine rockets within seconds, have been destroyed in the past three days.

The Israeli Air Force also struck the “D” phase of Hamas’s “Metro” underground network. According to Zilberman, 60 planes struck 65 targets with 110 munitions, destroying some 10-15 km. of the network.

“We know the grid of the network underground and every entry shaft,” Zilberman said, adding that destroying the network pushes the Hamas operatives to act above ground.

According to Zilberman, between 125 and 130 Hamas operatives and 30 Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives have been killed since the beginning of the operation last week. The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported the death toll at 200, including 59 children and 35 women; another 1,300 have been injured.

The IDF also struck several residences of battalion and unit commanders, including the home belonging to the Gaza battalion commander who is responsible for firing rockets toward Ashkelon.

The IAF also struck numerous targets in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City and, according to Zilberman, will continue to hit targets there for the next 12 hours.

Meanwhile, on the northern border, six rockets were fired from Lebanese territory toward Israel by a Palestinian group. None of the rockets crossed into Israeli territory and the IDF responded with tank and artillery fire.Zachary Keyser contributed to this report.