Israel targets Hamas tunnels after encircling Gaza City

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallanth military was operating "in the heart" of Gaza City and "tightening the noose" around Hamas, the Palestinian terror outfit, which rules the Strip, there, the country's  said on Tuesday. He made the comments as the Israeli military said its forces in Gaza began to locate and disable Hamas's vast tunnel network underneath the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Yoav Gallant, the Defence Minister, said the ground troops in Gaza and armoured vehicles had only one target, which was Hamas and "their infrastructure, their commanders, bunkers, communications rooms". On the other hand, Hamas claimed their fighters inflicted heavy losses to the Israeli ground forces.

Gallant spoke of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's Gaza chief, saying he was isolated from his bunker and that his "chain of command was weakening". He also said there were kilometres of tunnels that ran below schools and hospitals and housed weapons depots, communication rooms and hideouts for terrorists.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israel-Hamas war, which completed one month, was moving with "great force that Hamas had not ever seen". He said the Israeli ground troops had been "deepening the pressure" on the terror group "every hour, every day".

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who made a whirlwind trip to the Middle East, sought a consensus from his G7 counterparts in Tokyo on how to deal with the Israel-Hamas war, including the option of pushing forward a 'humanitarian pause' to allow aid to get into Gaza for the affected civilians.