Overview

• IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin said forces hold roughly 40% of Gaza City, citing advances in areas including Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan, with operations set to intensify in the coming days.
• Residents and local responders reported heavy bombardment in Zeitoun, Sabra, Tuffah and Shejaia, while Gaza health authorities said at least 53 people were killed on Thursday, most of them in Gaza City.
• Around 60,000 reservists have been called up and some have joined operations, as the military declares the second stage of Operation Gideon’s Chariots aimed at defeating Hamas and securing hostage releases.
• The IDF released images it says show an airstrike that killed Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida and pledged to pursue the group’s members wherever they are.
• Israel urged civilians to move south and says 70,000 have done so, a figure disputed by Palestinian officials who say fewer than half that number left, while aid groups report mounting displacement risks and 370 malnutrition deaths including 131 children.