Armored vehicles of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are seen during their ground operations at a location given as Gaza in this handout image released on Nov. 1, 2023. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said that it was beginning its encirclement of Gaza City, as ground operations to destroy the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continue to ramp up.

IDF spokesman Major (Res.) Doron Spielman described Israel’s ground campaign in neighboring Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas, at a press conference.

“Today we are deep inside the Gaza Strip in northern Gaza, where our forces are arrayed around that city, beginning an encirclement of Gaza City trying to deal with these Hamas terror cells,” Spielman said. “It’s extremely difficult warfare.”

Spielman said that one of the biggest obstacles the IDF faces is that while 800,000 Palestinian civilians have fled Gaza City, more than 300,000 remain despite IDF warnings to evacuate. According to Spielman, the motivations for staying are varied. While some civilians are unable to head south, many have voluntarily chosen to stay while others have been prevented from doing so by Hamas, which according to the Israeli military is effectively using the civilian population as human shields — a tactic often used by the terror group in past conflicts with Israel.

Israel for its part has evacuated more than 250,000 civilians from communities near the Gaza Strip and along Israel’s northern border. Spielman noted that some of those civilians are currently in the southern port city of Eilat, where Israel on Tuesday intercepted a missile attack using its “Arrow” defense system. The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for the barrage.

Iran also backs Hamas, which has received funding, training, and other military support from the Iranian regime.

The IDF said that as of Wednesday, 15 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, with a total of 331 soldiers killed during or since Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel in which about 1,100 civilians were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists. The IDF’s chief spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, also confirmed that the total number of hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza stands at 240.

In separate statements, the IDF on Wednesday said that Hamas continues to attempt infiltrations into Israel, efforts that have so far been thwarted by the Israeli military. The IDF also said they struck 11,000 Hamas targets in Gaza since Oct. 7, including a group of Hamas terrorists who on Tuesday barricaded themselves in a multistory building near a school and medical center in Jabaliya in northern Gaza.

Hagari said that so far the operation in Gaza is proceeding as planned.

“In accordance with prior planning from the Intelligence Branch, specific intelligence from the Intelligence Branch, in a joint action of our ground, sea, and air forces, our forces broke through the forward Hamas perimeter [in] the northern Gaza Strip,” he said. “The heavy air attacks continued throughout the entire day and will continue.”