Israeli troops are at the gates of hell as they have been met with fierce resistance by Hamas fighters as they try to press on to Gaza City.
Using their vast underground network of tunnels Hamas fighters are using hit-and-run attacks firing mortars and using small arms fire at Israeli forces.
Israeli military commander Brigadier General Itzik Cohen said on Wednesday evening that “We are at the gates of Gaza City.”
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Hamas fighters and their ally the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were seen coming out from tunnels to fire anti-tank rounds at Israeli tanks, then disappeared back into the vast tunnel network.
A resident in the city who remains anonymous said, “The Israeli forces are still outside the city, in the outskirts, and that means the resistance is heavier than they expected.”
Residents spoke about how the Israeli tanks and bulldozers were driving over rubble and knocking down structures instead of using the regular roads in place.
Brigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, chief of Israel’s military engineers, told Army Radio, “This is certainly terrain that is more heavily sown than in the past with minefields and boobytraps.
“Hamas has learned and prepared itself well.”
On Wednesday the Israeli military dropped flyers from the sky warning Palestinians inside Gaza that an invasion is now “imminent,” mal-Arabiya reported.
The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a stern warning to Hamas they must either “die or to surrender unconditionally.”
In a televised speech Gallant said “There is no third option,” addressing the militant group directly.
