Day 48: With pause in fighting delayed, IDF continues operations in Gaza Strip

As the temporary agreement for a pause in fighting, which was to see the release of 50 hostages, has still not been implemented as of Thursday morning, fighting in the Gaza Strip continued as usual.

Israeli Knesset Member Ze’ev Elkin of the National Unity party said there is an agreement but “there are all sorts of small details they are trying to finalize in the hostage return deal.” 

Elkin also said the hostage deal would not be the end of the war against Hamas. 

“We’re up against a cynical and horrible organization that shouldn’t expect good from us. During the negotiations, we struck 300 Hamas sites; we will keep striking them until the moment the truce deal goes into effect, and we will keep going a minute after it ends,” Elkin told Army Radio on Thursday morning. 

At the press briefing Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denied rumors that the temporary pause in fighting would lead to the end of the war effort against Hamas. 

“Citizens of Israel, I want to be clear – the war is continuing. The war is continuing. We will continue until we achieve all of our goals: Return all of the hostages, eliminate Hamas and ensure that on the day after Hamas, no element that supports terrorism, educates its children for terrorism, and pays terrorists or their families, will control Gaza. Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel.” 

With the lull in fighting delayed, IDF troops continue operations in the Gaza Strip. 

Israel Defense Forces announced this morning, that forces are striking terror targets in the area of Jabalya. 

In operations today, an IDF drone targeted armed terrorists who approached IDF troops and also struck an observation post, posing a threat to soldiers.

An IDF drone working with tanks eliminated a number of terrorist cells in the northern Gaza Strip, per the direction of ground troops.

IDF troops exposed a terror tunnel shaft in an agricultural area in Beit Hanoun, which was destroyed. IDF soldiers also located numerous weapons and a terror tunnel shaft inside a civilian residence in the area.

In the last 24 hours, IAF hit over 300 Hamas targets, including military command centers, underground terror tunnels, weapon storage facilities, weapon manufacturing sites, and anti-tank missile launch posts. 

במהלך פעילות צה"ל ברצועה, הותקפו מהאוויר ביממה האחרונה כ-300 מטרות טרור של ארגון הטרור חמאס, ביניהן מפקדות מבצעיות, מנהרות לחימה תת קרקעיות, מחסני אמל"ח, אתרים לייצור אמל"ח ועמדות שיגור נ"ט. pic.twitter.com/QDCnxIlRsj

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) November 23, 2023

Ground troops, again, found a tunnel shaft located in a mosque, and another tunnel shaft inside a residential building, along with weapons. 

The IDF also struck Hamas infrastructure in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar resides. According to reports in Arab media, 15 terrorists were killed in the strike. 

Israel has dropped leaflets in certain Khan Younis neighborhoods advising residents to leave the area, as they did in the northern Gaza Strip before the ground invasion. 

At the time of publication, reports in Hebrew and Arab media stated that Israel detained the director of the Al-Shifa Hospital, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, for questioning while he was attempting to flee to the southern Gaza Strip.