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.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
Israeli and Lebanese envoys will meet for U.S.-mediated talks in Washington on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to calm weeks of Israeli fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to derail a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
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