by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israel launched a surprise operation in Gaza, on Tuesday night targeting 80 locations simultaneously lasting less than ten minutes fulfilling Israeli leaders’ warnings that they would unleash the “gates of hell” unless all hostages were released.
The strikes targeted Hamas’ mid-level commanders, including battalion and company leaders, as well as key officials such as the head of Hamas’ Shura Council, the justice and interior ministers of Hamas.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited Gaza’s Rafah region on Tuesday with Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram. He instructed the troops, “Your mission is to protect the communities. We are engaged in a continuous operation against Hamas while remaining fully committed to bringing the hostages home.”
In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hamas stating, “I cannot go into all the details — but we have a joint strategy, including when and how the gates of hell will open if all of our hostages, all of them, are not released and do not return home.”
This bombardment was the deadliest in the ongoing 17-month conflict with Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the resumption of military action in Gaza was a response to Hamas’ refusal to release hostages and their threats against Israeli troops and communities.
“If Hamas does not free all of the hostages, the gates of hell will open on Gaza and the murderous Hamas rapists will encounter the IDF in a force they have not yet known. We will not stop the fighting until all the hostages are returned home and the objectives of the war are achieved,” Katz declared.
Tuesday’s surprise bombardment in Gaza led to over 400 Palestinian deaths, local health officials reported. However, verifying the accuracy of this toll is difficult due to Hamas’ control and lack of freedom of the press in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, authorities did not distinguished between combatant and civilian casualties.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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