IDF says they have killed Hamas members operating in schools

Smoke rising from the Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. Pic/AFP

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday said that they have killed Hamas members who were allegedly operating from inside the schools in Gaza. The IDF, in a statement, said that in a joint operation - the IDF's 401st Brigade and Shayetet Special Forces killed Hamas members who were operating from inside schools in Gaza. It said that the operations took place in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City.

"The Hamas members were hiding inside of schools and the 401st Brigade and Shayetet 13 forces, under the direction of the 162nd Brigade, raided the Mu'tasim Bi'llah and Farabi schools in Rimal," IDF said. Israel launched a ground offensive inside Gaza on October 27 after Hamas attacked Israel in a surprise attack on October 7 in which 1200 Israelis were killed and over 200 were taken hostage. Since the outbreak of hostilities between Hamas and Israel, over 21,731 Palestinians have been killed including 8,697 children and 4,410 women.

Gaza witnesses communications blackout

A prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery in the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday, where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiralled. Internet and telephone lines went down Thursday evening and were still inaccessible Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel's war against Hamas stretched into the 11th week. "The internet blackout is ongoing, and based on our records it is the longest such incident" in the over-two-month war, said Alp Toker, the group's director.

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