Katz: ‘Gaza is burning’ as IDF fights for hostages’ freedom, Hamas’s defeat

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday morning that “Gaza is burning” as Israel Defense Forces soldiers continue to fight for the release of the hostages and the defeat of the Hamas terror group.

Jerusalem “will not relent and we will not turn back until the mission is complete,” the defense minister declared in a Hebrew-language X post.

“Gaza is burning,” Katz claimed. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers fight with courage to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”

Katz’s remarks came as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters while departing the Jewish state for Doha, Qatar, suggested that Israel’s military offensive to capture Gaza City had started.

“The Israelis have begun to take operations there,” Rubio stated. “So we think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen.

“We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go,” Washington’s top diplomat continued.

“Our preference, our No. 1 choice, is that this ends through a negotiated settlement,” he added. “At some point, this has to end. At some point, Hamas has to be defanged, and we hope it can happen through a negotiation. But I think time, unfortunately, is running out.”

On Monday night, the IDF said it had eliminated 21 senior operatives of the Iranian-controlled Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization, which participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre alongside Hamas terrorists.

The operation—led by the IDF’s Southern Command in coordination with its Military Intelligence Directorate, the Israeli Air Force and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), targeted commanders, weapons experts and field operatives, according to the army.

Among those killed were key terrorists responsible for arms production, artillery, sniper and sector command positions, including Mohammad Radwan Ramadan Mushtaha, the head of military armament in Gaza’s north, and Amir al-Shaam Faiz Wadi, commander of the terror group’s sniper array in the Khan Younis Brigade, the IDF stated on Monday.

Other high-ranking commanders killed include Jamal Mahmoud Salem Ma’amar, who oversaw artillery operations in Rafah, as well as Fazel Zakariya Ahmad Abu al-Ata, a Gaza Brigade sector commander.

The military also eliminated five operatives with specialized knowledge of arms production, including Mansour Mahmoud Mohammad Salah and Ahmad Ziyad Qasem Qadi, as well as several field operatives who had executed direct attacks against Israeli forces. Ihab Bassam Yousef Abu al-Kheir, head of PIJ’s sniper squads, was also among those killed.

The IDF said that these eliminations were part of a broader campaign in which “hundreds of terrorists from the terrorist organization have been eliminated” in the Strip since the start of the current ground operation.

“The IDF and the ISA will continue to act decisively against all terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” Monday night’s statement concluded.

According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, the IDF hit dozens of targets in Gaza City, in a wave of aerial attacks described as “intense and significant” by an anonymous security official who spoke to the outlet.

Residents in the center of the Jewish state reported to Channel 12 News that they were able to clearly hear the echoes of the intense explosions.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stressed last week that Jerusalem was still seeking to end the war based on U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest truce proposal and according to the principles set by Israel’s Cabinet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 14 outlined the Cabinet’s objectives as the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all 48 remaining hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control and establishing an alternative civilian administration in the enclave.

Netanyahu in a statement on Monday evening showed appreciation to Trump for his administration’s “unflinching support for Israel’s battle against Hamas and the release of all our hostages.”

The prime minister was responding to Trump stating that he just read a news report that “Hamas has moved the hostages above ground to use them as human shields against Israel’s ground offensive” in Gaza City.

“I hope the leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing,” he had written on his Truth Social platform. “This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before. Don’t let this happen or all bets are off. Release all hostages now.”

Trump said on Sept. 7 that a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement with Hamas could be imminent. Forty-eight hostages remain in terror captivity in the Strip, 711 days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 cross-border attack. According to Israeli estimates, up to 20 are believed to be alive.

Asked by reporters whether he was confident that the current proposal could get all the captives freed, Trump responded: “Yeah, I think so. I think we’re going to get them all.”

The remarks came just hours after the president announced on Truth Social that Israel had agreed to the latest framework to end the war.

However, senior Hamas terrorist Bassem Naim said in response that Washington’s proposed agreement was “clearly” designed “to be rejected, rather than to reach a deal that ends the war, ensure a full withdrawal of the occupation forces and secure a prisoner exchange.”

Hebrew media reported that under the latest deal proposal, Jerusalem would forgo its planned military operation to capture Gaza City and instead enter talks to end the war under Trump’s personal auspices.

As long as negotiations continue, the fighting would not resume, with the U.S. president making the final decision, according to a Channel 12 report.

Meanwhile, all hostages would be released on the first day of the truce, while Israel would commute the sentences of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists serving life terms for deadly attacks.

© JNS