IDF Intensifies Offensive: Israeli Air Force Strikes 140 Targets, Navy Shells Hamas Sites as Troops Push Deeper Into Gaza City

By: Fern Sidman

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has dramatically escalated its operations in Gaza over the past 24 hours, striking some 140 targets from the air and sea, while ground forces pressed deeper into the urban heart of Gaza City. The strikes, announced by the military on Monday, underline Israel’s determination to dismantle Hamas’s remaining infrastructure and to neutralize threats embedded within one of the world’s most densely populated urban environments.

According to an official military communiqué, the Israeli Air Force conducted precision strikes against a wide range of assets linked to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The targets comprised weapons storage facilities, command-and-control centers, and operational positions used to stage attacks against advancing Israeli troops. The Israeli Navy also joined the intensified campaign, shelling a weapons depot in northern Gaza along with several other buildings believed to be used by Hamas operatives.

This synchronized military effort—combining aerial bombardment, naval firepower, and advancing ground troops—marks a decisive stage in Israel’s campaign to reclaim control of Gaza City from Hamas after months of grueling conflict.

The IDF confirmed that ground troops from three divisions are spearheading the assault. These include armored brigades, infantry battalions, and combat engineering units tasked with detecting and dismantling Hamas’s labyrinth of tunnels and booby-traps.

In the most recent operation, troops uncovered an explosive device planted by Hamas inside a high-rise building in Gaza City. According to the IDF, the device was discovered on the sixth floor of the tower using drone reconnaissance. The booby-trap, clearly intended to target Israeli soldiers once they entered the building, was “neutralized” without causing injury to any troops.

The military published video footage of the discovery, depicting how advanced drone technology allowed soldiers to identify the hidden device before entering the premises. The footage reinforced Israel’s frequent assertion that Hamas has systematically transformed residential and commercial structures into combat zones, putting civilians at risk by embedding military infrastructure in densely populated areas.

The pace and scope of the most recent IDF operations highlight a strategy of relentless pressure on Hamas strongholds. Israeli military officials have repeatedly emphasized that the battle for Gaza City represents the critical turning point in the campaign.

“Every strike we conduct, every tunnel we collapse, and every weapons depot we destroy brings us closer to dismantling Hamas’s ability to operate as a coherent military force,” an IDF spokesperson said on Monday. “Our forces are advancing methodically and carefully to minimize risks to our soldiers while maximizing the damage to Hamas.”

This latest phase of combat reflects the IDF’s doctrine of combined arms operations—employing simultaneous ground, naval, and air power in an integrated campaign designed to overwhelm the enemy’s capacity to respond effectively.

The discovery of the high-rise booby-trap has become emblematic of Hamas’s reliance on improvised explosive devices (IEDs), hidden munitions, and urban entrapment tactics. Military analysts note that Hamas, facing overwhelming Israeli firepower, has shifted toward asymmetric warfare strategies aimed at slowing down IDF advances and inflicting maximum casualties.

“Urban combat in Gaza City is among the most challenging battle environments on earth,” said Col. (res.) Dan Goldstein, a former IDF commander, in a briefing with Israeli media. “Hamas knows it cannot win a conventional war. Its entire playbook now relies on traps, tunnels, and turning civilian spaces into military fortresses.”

Goldstein pointed out that the IDF’s use of drones, robots, and advanced surveillance tools has proven pivotal in preempting such traps. “The fact that this device was found before it detonated saved lives,” he said. “It also demonstrates the adaptability of Israeli forces to a battlefield that Hamas designed to be lethal.”

Parallel to ground and air operations, the Israeli Navy targeted sites in northern Gaza, shelling a weapons depot and striking buildings reportedly used by Hamas operatives. Naval fire support, typically less publicized than aerial campaigns, has played a significant role in constraining Hamas’s freedom of movement along the coastline and disrupting its supply routes.

Analysts note that naval bombardments are also intended to destroy Hamas’s maritime capabilities, including attempts to build and deploy weaponized boats or to smuggle materials into Gaza through clandestine maritime routes.

Reports from the ground indicate that Gaza City, once a bustling hub of 700,000 residents, has been transformed into a war zone. Many of its neighborhoods now resemble ghost towns, emptied of civilians who fled southward in search of relative safety as the IDF pushed further into the city.

Yet the city remains a stronghold for Hamas, which continues to mount sporadic resistance through sniper fire, anti-tank rockets, and sudden ambushes. Israeli commanders, however, stress that the combined force of air, sea, and ground pressure has steadily eroded Hamas’s capacity to launch coordinated counterattacks.

“Gaza City is being emptied of its civilian population because residents understand that Hamas has turned their neighborhoods into military zones,” said Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson. “They are leaving for their own safety as our operations intensify.”

The latest Israeli escalation has drawn mixed responses internationally. Supporters argue that Israel has a right—and indeed an obligation—to neutralize Hamas after the terrorist group’s October 7 massacre and its continued rocket fire. Critics, however, have raised concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian toll of the offensive.

Israel has countered these critiques by pointing to Hamas’s deliberate use of civilian infrastructure to conceal weapons, command centers, and fighters. “The world must understand: every school turned into a weapons cache, every hospital used as a command center, every apartment filled with explosives is the direct responsibility of Hamas,” one Israeli official told reporters.

The IDF insists it takes “extraordinary measures” to minimize civilian casualties, including advance warnings, targeted strikes, and the use of precision-guided munitions.

Military experts agree that the current stage of the offensive is aimed not only at destroying Hamas’s immediate capacity to wage war but also at reshaping the security architecture of Gaza for the future. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior defense officials have repeatedly declared that Israel’s objectives are threefold: the destruction of Hamas’s military infrastructure, the return of all hostages, and the establishment of a demilitarized Gaza under new governance.

The intensity of the strikes and the commitment of three divisions into Gaza City suggest that Israel is determined to achieve these goals regardless of the time or cost required.

As the IDF strikes 140 targets in a single day, deploys naval forces against Hamas positions, and advances ground divisions deeper into Gaza City, the scale of Israel’s determination is undeniable. The discovery and neutralization of a Hamas booby-trap in a high-rise underscores the constant danger Israeli troops face as they navigate one of the most hostile battlefields in the modern world.

For Israel, the stakes extend far beyond the battlefield. Each operation, each strike, and each discovery forms part of a broader campaign not only to dismantle Hamas but to redefine the security reality of Gaza and safeguard Israel’s long-term future.

The coming days and weeks will likely see intensified clashes as Israeli forces tighten their grip on Gaza City, testing both the resilience of Hamas and the resolve of the Israeli leadership to see the campaign through to its declared objectives.