Israeli forces pushed further into the heart of Gaza City on Wednesday, targeting what is described as the last stronghold of Hamas and other Islamist factions in the enclave.
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 24, 2025. Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alka
Israeli forces pushed further into the heart of Gaza City on Wednesday, targeting what is described as the last stronghold of Hamas and other Islamist factions in the enclave.
According to military sources, every house and building in the area has been turned into a defensive position, used by militants to launch attacks and store weapons. Israeli officials argue that the destruction of this bastion is essential to bring the conflict to an end.
Hamas has admitted the loss of several of its senior military leaders but has avoided disclosing the total number of its fighters killed. Israeli estimates suggest that around 20,000 militants have been eliminated over the past two years, though several thousand remain active in Gaza.
In response to mounting losses, Hamas has reportedly conducted emergency recruitment drives, drawing on idle and impoverished youths. Disturbingly, some of these new recruits are said to be as young as 15—or even younger.
The battle for Gaza City is viewed as a turning point in the war, with Israeli commanders determined to dismantle Hamas’s last major defensive network.
Countries are still working on a U.N. Security Council mandate for an international stabilisation force in Gaza, and will decide on any troop deployments once a framework is complete, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.
Avishay Edri wants to move back to the kibbutz he evacuated in southern Israel after it was attacked by Palestinian gunmen two years ago, but is hesitating as fears persist that the war in nearby Gaza will resume and it will not be safe.
Inflation in Turkey eased in October, falling to 32.9% year-on-year from 33.3% in September, reaching its lowest level since November 2021, according to official data released on Monday.
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