Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu holds phone briefing with war cabinet, security chiefs

Tel Aviv [Israel] : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone assessment with his advisors amid the war against Hamas in the region on Monday.

The Israel PMO shared about the telephonic meeting saying, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, held an assessment of the situation this evening, via teleconference.”

“Participating in the call were the Defense Minister, Minister Gantz, Minister Eisenkot, the Strategic Affairs Minister, MK Aryeh Deri, Director of the National Security Council, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, the IDF Chief-of-Staff, the Director of the Mossad, the Prime Minister’s Military Secretary, the Head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, the Head of the IDF Operations Directorate, the Head of the IDF Planning Directorate, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Head of Research at IDF Intelligence,” it added.

The Israel Defence Forces released footage of an airstrike in the Gaza Strip today, killing the commander of Hamas’s Shati battalion, The Times of Israel reported.

The IDF says Haitham Hawajri was responsible for sending Hamas terrorists into Israel during the October 7 massacre, and he led the fighting against troops in Gaza City’s Shati camp during the ground offensive.
According to the IDF, Hawajri, and his battalion, were responsible for securing Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, where the terror group is believed to have a base of operations underneath.

“As part of his role, Hawajri was responsible for a lot of terror activity against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the IDF adds in a statement, The Times of Israel reported.

Meanwhile, Israel has started expanding its ground operations to the whole of the Gaza Strip, CNN reported quoting Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Sunday.

“The IDF is resuming and expanding the ground operation against Hamas’ strongholds across the whole Gaza Strip,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a news conference on Sunday.

The IDF spokesperson also underlined “the importance of air assistance provided by the Air Force to ground forces,” saying airstrikes against terror headquarters, weapons manufacturing facilities, terror tunnels, and rocket launching sites limit the threats posed against the ground operation.