Operation Iron Swords (Updated to 1 p.m., December 28, 2023)
he IDF forces continued to attack terrorist targets in a number of central locations in the Gaza Strip, among them Daraj and Tufah in the northern Gaza Strip, the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. In Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City, the IDF completed the destruction of the underground tunnel complex. The Palestinians reported that the IDF's ground maneuver in the central Gaza Strip focused on the Juhor al-Dik area (Wadi Gaza) and the al-Bureij refugee camp. Hamas' military-terrorist wing announced it was using "new weapons”. According to an unofficial estimate, since October 7 approximately 1,300 Israeli civilians and security personnel have been killed, 501 of them soldiers and officers; 129 civilian and military hostages are still being held by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, 16 of them women and children; 121 hostages have been returned to Israel. The preoccupation with "the day after" continues. Hamas informed Egypt that a situation in which Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) would not be part of the leadership of the Gaza Strip after the war was unrealistic. Hamas denied reports in the French newspaper Le Figaro stating that half an hour before the start of Operation al-Aqsa Flood, they updated Hezbollah. Hezbollah accepted responsibility for three attacks. A barrage of about 30 rockets was launched at Kiryat Shmona. Three hostile aircraft crossed from Lebanon and fell in the area of Mount Dov.Israeli security forces conducted an extensive operation to confiscate funds intended to finance terrorism and detained suspects for helping to finance Hamas.The Islamic Resistance Front in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacking a vital target in the Golan Heights.
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