IDF bombs whole Gaza neighborhoods to hit Hamas targets - official

IDF Air Force chief Brig.-Gen. Omer Tishler on Wednesday said that his forces are dropping thousands of bombs "around the clock" on Gazan terrorists "with no difference between day and night."

With pictures showing that IDF airstrikes are cutting in half or completely removing various Gaza neighborhoods where Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists were hiding from the map, Tishler said the air force is hunting them everywhere "from invaders to anyone who steps outside in Gaza, to those terrorists' hiding inside [civilian] residences." 

"We are attacking very aggressively any place which Hamas and its people are using," he said.

Of course, he said the IDF is not targeting civilians as Hamas did in mass numbers on Saturday and continues to do with rocket fire, "there is always a military target, but we are not being surgical."

Tactically, he explained that if in past "rounds" of fighting with Gaza, the air force would target one or two Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets or high-ranking officers at a time, now it is targeting whole neighborhoods of terrorist targets all at once.

Earlier, another IDF official hinted more senior terrorist officials have been killed than have been announced as the IDF is waiting for Palestinians to announce and confirm certain deaths.

He said, "The [military] machine will work and destroy and uproot the centers of terrorism, and will not let them hide within civilian areas."  

Moreover, he described a massive number of IDF intelligence collection officials working with the military's artificial intelligence target bank and pilots to constantly update and find new targets.

IDF using AI to better targeting process

In an exclusive interview with the target bank chief, a colonel, earlier in 2023, the officer told The Jerusalem Post that the AI targeting capabilities had for the first time helped the IDF cross the point where they can assemble new targets even faster than the rate of attacks.

Prior to the advent of the new highly advanced AI targeting process, after a period of days or slightly more, the IDF often ran out of quality targets.

Under the new process, the IDF can target terrorists at tiny spots in Gaza as small as a concealed porch.

However, Tishler urged patience, saying taking apart the terror group would take time. 

The air force has also handled defending against more than 5,000 rockets from Gaza in a matter of days.

Tishler said that the Iron Dome's effectiveness was similar to past rounds of conflict with Gaza (which has ranged from around 85-95% effective) and had shot down many thousands of rockets, but that the IDF would not be sharing exact statistics so as not to assist Hamas, Hezbollah, or those firing from Syria in their rocket efforts.

At the same time, he warned that defenses were "not hermetic" and that civilians must continue to rush to safe rooms when sirens go off.

He complimented civilians to date for following these precautions as the main reason that casualties have been low from rockets despite the unprecedented pace of firing.