Israeli Defence Forces have revealed footage of soldiers engaged in a battle with Hamas gunmen in a school in Gaza, before they find an entrance to an underground tunnel which leads to a nearby mosque.
The footage shows Israeli soldiers shooting into a dark corridor within the school complex, which is strewn with bits of wood and other debris.
The IDF says the video is taken in Shejaiya, northern Gaza, and that it shows soldiers from two units coming under fire from a Hamas terror cell.
It comes as the US last night vetoed a UN motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, prompting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to say the nation is ‘complicit in war crimes’. The UK abstained, while the other 13 nations on the council voted in favour of the motion.
The Hamas-led Palestinian health authority this morning said 17,487 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, when Hamas terrorists broke through the Israeli border and killed around 1,200 people.
It says Hamas fighters attempted to lure Israeli soldiers into an ambush with gunfire and explosives but were neutralised.
A second video shows the devastation of the neighbourhood and what appears to be a dark tunnel leading into the ground.
The IDF said this was a tunnel shaft, found inside one of the school’s classrooms, that lead to a nearby mosque.
Sharing the video on X, Israeli spokesperson Daniel Hagari wrote: ‘As part of the activities of the fighters of the 188th Brigade’s combat team in the heart of the Shejaiya neighborhood, forces from the Counter-Terrorism Unit (LOTR) along with fighters from the 74th Battalion of the Hamas Terrorist Squad encountered a school complex in the heart of the neighborhood.’
Israel claims to have killed all the gunmen in the area and found a number of weapons, grenades and ammunition.
It also said the tunnel shaft is part of ‘an extensive underground route’ in Shujaiya.
Israel is under increasing pressure to ensure the safety of civilians in Gaza. The nation says Hamas are using civilians as human shields and operating out of civilian buildings.
At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, while 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
It is thought Hamas still hold around 137 Israeli hostages. Last night the IDF admitted two of its soldiers had been seriously wounded in a failed attempt to free hostages.
It claimed to have killed numerous Hamas militants, but was unable to retrieve any hostages.
Earlier in the day, Hamas said its fighters had stopped a rescue attempt and clashed with Israeli special forces.
It claimed an Israeli soldier who was being held hostage was killed by Israeli air fire meant to protect the withdrawing forces.
Aid agencies warn that a humanitarian disaster in Gaza is worsening by the hour with most of its 2.3 million people homeless and trapped in a tiny, embattled coastal enclave, with little food, water, medical care, fuel or secure shelter.
With basic infrastructure devastated, phone and internet services frequently disrupted, and a number of health statisticians having been killed or gone missing, there is increasing concern that Gaza health authorities will be unable to continue keeping an accurate count of the casualty toll.
The UN has warned that civilisation in Gaza is on the brink of complete collapse and that there are no facilities able to cope with the humanitarian crisis.
The council called the emergency meeting to hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who for the first time of the UN Charter, which enables a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security.
He warned of a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza and urged the council to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.
Guterres said he raised Article 99 – which hadn’t been used at the UN since 1971 – because ‘there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza.’
The UN anticipates this would result in ‘a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,’ he warned.
Gaza is at ‘a breaking point,’ he said, and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation.
It was reported on Saturday that with almost no clean water or food available, bags of flour are now being sold for as much as £107 each.
Over 60 percent of Gaza’s housing has reportedly been destroyed or damaged, some 85 percent of the population has been forced from their homes and the health system is collapsing, the UN was told.
Distressing images of seriously wounded Palestinians being treated on the floors of hospitals, which are doubling up as bomb shelters for tens of thousands of people, have been sent our by journalists working in the region.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant argued a fresh truce would be a victory for Hamas. ‘A ceasefire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza, and signalling terror groups everywhere,’ he said.
‘Stand with Israel in our mission – we are fighting for our future, and we are fighting for the free world.’
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
