Israeli army eliminates Hamas 'air force commander' VIDEO

The Israel Defense Forces and the General Security Service (Shabak) announced the elimination of Assam Abu Rakaba, the "commander of the air force" of the Hamas organisation, in Gaza.

Caliber.Az reports citing the IDF Press Service that Abu Rakaba commanded units operating drones, units in charge of air defence and paraglider commando teams.

He was one of those who planned the October 7, 2023 operation.

Moreover, the IDF said that the Air Force struck some 150 underground sites belonging to the Hamas terror group.

It adds that a number of Hamas terrorists were killed in the strikes.

Palestinian reports from Gaza are scarce after internet and phone services collapsed amid Israeli bombardment last night.

The Hamas terror group’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said it was confronting Israeli forces in Gaza and that “violent clashes” were taking place near Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave, and Bureij in the centre.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told a small group of foreign reporters earlier that Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza soon. It “will take a long time” to dismantle Hamas’s vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expected a lengthy phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys “pockets of resistance.”

Meanwhile, Israel rejected the UN General Assembly (GA) resolution calling for a truce in the Gaza Strip.

The country intends to eliminate the Palestinian radical organisation Hamas, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said.

"Resolutely rejecting the UNGA's shameful call for a 'ceasefire', Israel intends to act to eliminate Hamas in the same way the world acted against the Nazis and the 'Islamic State'," the minister said, whose words were spread by the press service of the Foreign Ministry.

Despite heavy fighting, Israel brushed off any rumours of the engagement of foreign forces in its war against Hamas.

Israel does not allow the possibility of participation of military personnel from other states in its operations, the country's ambassador to France, Raphael Morav, said on Europe 1 radio.

"Israel has always fought on its own against its enemies, and it will continue to do so. We have never asked for help in the form of sending us foreign troops. There can be no talk of sending French soldiers to Israel or the Gaza Strip," he said, ruling out any participation of French Armed Forces soldiers even if Paris wanted to.

At the same time, the head of the Israeli diplomatic mission admitted "cooperation with France in intelligence matters and the fight against terrorist financing." "There is still a lot of work to be done in terms of terrorist financing, particularly in the context of the use of cryptocurrencies," the ambassador said.

Members of the radical Palestinian Hamas movement are ready for a large-scale Israeli ground operation and have enough supplies to stay in tunnels under the Gaza Strip for months.

Ali Baraka, head of the Palestinian Hamas movement's National Bureau for Foreign Relations, told Britain's Financial Times (FT) in an interview before the Israeli army announced the expanded ground operation.

"We have prepared for a ground offensive," Baraka said, adding that Hamas has 40,000 fighters.