By: Fern Sidman

As the Jewish New Year begins, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are pressing forward with their most significant campaign inside Gaza since the start of the war, advancing deeper into Gaza City to dismantle what military officials describe as Hamas’s primary stronghold. In an extensive briefing on Sunday, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin underscored the scope and urgency of the operation, declaring that Israel is engaged in combat against Hamas operatives “both above and below ground.”

According to a report that appeared on Monday at The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), Defrin emphasized that the mission remains clear: to destroy Hamas’s entrenched military network, recover the remaining hostages, and restore security for Israeli citizens. “Hamas has shown the world its true strategy: to exploit its own people and prolong this war,” Defrin told reporters. “Our forces are working day and night, turning over every stone, to bring our hostages home, dismantle Hamas’s terror networks, and secure a safer region for all.”

Over the past week, Hamas’s battlefield tactics have highlighted once again the group’s willingness to use Gaza’s civilian population as human shields. Defrin noted that the terror group had opened fire on a United Nations team, stolen U.N. vehicles to obstruct the building of a humanitarian road and seized four UNICEF aid trucks at gunpoint—depriving thousands of infants of desperately needed baby formula.

As JNS reported, such actions underscore the extent to which Hamas prioritizes its war aims over the welfare of Gaza’s civilian population. Defrin accused the organization of deliberately blocking civilians from leaving combat zones, stating: “Hamas continues to block civilians from leaving combat zones, choosing to sacrifice Gaza’s residents rather than protecting them.”

Even as combat operations intensify, the IDF has continued to implement an extensive civilian protection campaign. Defrin detailed the wide range of measures undertaken by the military to warn civilians of imminent strikes and encourage relocation to safer areas. These include voice messages, text alerts, leaflet drops, and direct phone calls to residents of threatened neighborhoods.

In parallel, the IDF has designated a humanitarian area in Khan Yunis, where infrastructure is being expanded to accommodate those displaced from Gaza City and the north. According to the information provided in the JNS report, Israeli efforts in the south include the construction of field hospitals, installation of water pipelines and desalination units, and the delivery of food, tents, medicine, and other essential supplies.

Defrin also pointed to the tonnage of aid currently stockpiled at the Kerem Shalom crossing, waiting for distribution by international organizations. “Israel is ensuring civilians can keep out of harm’s way, enabling access to food, shelter and medicine,” he said, while calling upon the U.N. and aid agencies to expedite delivery directly to Gazans.

According to the IDF, more than 550,000 civilians have so far evacuated southward from Gaza City, heeding warnings to clear combat zones. With operations expanding into Hamas strongholds, three IDF divisions—the 162nd, 98th, and 36th—have begun concentrated maneuvers against entrenched militant positions.

As JNS has noted in recent coverage, these divisions are tasked not only with rooting out tunnel networks and weapons caches but also with disabling Hamas’s command structure inside Gaza City. The campaign represents the most intense phase of ground combat since the start of Israel’s counteroffensive, underscoring the high stakes as the military seeks to cut off Hamas’s operational core.

Perhaps the most searing dimension of the war is the plight of the 48 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity nearly a year after the October 7, 2023 massacre. Defrin acknowledged the anguish of their families, noting that their fate remains central to Israel’s military objectives.

“As the Jewish New Year arrives, forty-eight hostages remain in the grip of Hamas,” he said. “Their captivity is an unfinished chapter of this war—and we will not close it until they are home. We have no other choice.”

JNS has consistently reported on the dual challenge facing the IDF: balancing the urgent imperative of recovering hostages with the broader goal of dismantling Hamas’s infrastructure. While negotiations have intermittently surfaced in diplomatic backchannels, Israel’s leadership insists that only sustained military pressure will compel Hamas to release those still held.

For Israel, the assault on Gaza City reflects not only a tactical battle but also a moral and strategic struggle against an adversary that, in Defrin’s words, “has no regard for human life.” As the JNS report noted, Hamas’s practice of embedding military assets within civilian areas—schools, hospitals, and mosques—has forced Israel to undertake an extraordinarily complex operation that balances military necessity with humanitarian considerations.

This balancing act has drawn criticism from international observers, but Israeli officials argue that Hamas alone bears responsibility for civilian casualties by systematically transforming residential neighborhoods into battlefields. The seizure of UNICEF aid and attacks on U.N. convoys, widely reported by JNS, further illustrate Hamas’s disregard for international norms.

The advance into Gaza City marks a pivotal moment in Israel’s broader campaign. Military analysts cited in the JNS report argue that Hamas’s stronghold in Gaza’s urban center represents the final anchor of its military power. Neutralizing that base would significantly degrade the group’s capacity to wage sustained warfare, even if isolated cells persist.

At the same time, the IDF’s efforts to carve out humanitarian corridors and build infrastructure in the south reflect a parallel strategy: to demonstrate Israel’s commitment to safeguarding civilians, even as it confronts one of the most brutal terror groups in the world.

The days and weeks ahead are expected to bring even more intense fighting in Gaza City’s dense neighborhoods. IDF divisions are poised to face extensive tunnel networks, booby-trapped buildings, and ambushes designed to slow their advance.

Yet Defrin’s comments, cited in the JNS report, conveyed a sense of determination. “Our forces are working day and night,” he said. “We will not rest until the hostages are returned and Hamas’s terror machine is dismantled.”

The ongoing operations highlight the IDF’s belief that victory will not be measured solely in tactical terms but in reshaping the security environment for future generations. For Israel, this means ensuring that Gaza can no longer serve as a launchpad for terror and that Hamas’s grip on the enclave is permanently broken.

As reported by JNS, the IDF’s advance into Gaza City illustrates both the ferocity of the battle against Hamas and the complexity of balancing military imperatives with humanitarian responsibilities. From the evacuation of over half a million civilians to the construction of humanitarian zones in the south, Israel is attempting to craft a path that combines unrelenting pressure on Hamas with tangible relief for Gaza’s residents.

At the heart of it all, however, remains the fate of 48 hostages — a painful reminder that for Israel, the war cannot end until every captive is brought home. As Brig. Gen. Defrin affirmed, “We have no other choice.”

In the eyes of Israeli leaders and as reflected in the JNS report, the campaign is not only about eliminating a terrorist group but also about reaffirming Israel’s resolve to safeguard its citizens, defend its values, and ensure that Hamas’s tactics of terror and exploitation are permanently consigned to history.