From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
IDF spokesman: Troops ‘deepening’ move into Gaza City, 50,000 Gazans moved south today
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military has caused significant damage to the Hamas terror group’s aerial and naval forces.
“We continue to deepen the attack into Gaza City, and thwart tunnel shafts adjacent to civilian sites,” Hagari says. “We hit Hamas’s aerial and naval arrays hard, which were planning strategic attacks.”
He says troops have captured some 700 RPG rounds, which have been used by Hamas to attack ground troops in the Strip.
Hagari also says that some 50,000 Gazans evacuated the northern Gaza Strip Wednesday to its south via a humanitarian corridor that the IDF opened for a number of hours.
“Hamas’s leadership is out of touch,” he says. “Today we saw 50,000 Gazans heading south, they understand that Hamas has lost control.”
He says there is no ceasefire currently on the table, only potential “humanitarian pauses” to allow the civilian population to evacuate.
Hagari updates the number of confirmed hostages in the Gaza Strip to 239, down from 240.
He says the number is not final as the military investigates new information, including the identification of bodies of missing people.
