Israel says it has attacked 'underground sites' in Gaza

Israel's military said it has carried out two major airstrikes in recent days on senior Hamas commanders who were hiding in underground sites, while also releasing footage of what it said is a tunnel at Gaza's largest hospital.

Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at one site a number of senior Hamas commanders were hiding, including Ahmed Ghandour, the commander of Hamas’s northern Gaza brigade, and Ayman Siam, the head of Hamas’s rocket firing array.

"Hamas is trying to hide the results of the strike," he said.

The commander said he could not elaborate further on the strike, but that "it can be said with certainty that the underground where they were was very heavily damaged".

On Friday Israeli soldiers said they found an underground tunnel used by Hamas militants at Gaza's main Al Shifa hospital, as well as "a large amount of weaponry and ammunition" inside the building.

The army released a video of a deep hole in the ground, surrounded by rubble, and claimed it was a tunnel entrance in an outdoor area of Al Shifa. The army said its troops also found a vehicle in the hospital containing a large number of weapons.

The army also claimed another "terrorist tunnel" was unearthed by troops inside the Rantisi Hospital, showing grainy photos of a door.

Hamas has previously denied it uses Al Shifa for military purposes.

The body of an Israeli soldier, who had been held captive by Palestinian militant group Hamas, was found in a building near Gaza's Al Shifa hospital, the army said on Friday.

The Israeli military previously confirmed the death of the soldier after Hamas issued a video of her alive followed by images of what the Palestinian faction said was her body after she was killed in an Israeli strike.

Israeli officials said Hamas held some of the 240 hostages taken by gunmen on October 7 in the hospital complex.

Meanwhile the two telecoms companies in Gaza said all services in the territory were down as energy supplies had run out. Israel refuses fuel imports, saying Hamas could use them for military purposes.

With communications out and in the absence of fuel, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said it was impossible to coordinate humanitarian aid truck convoys.

"If the fuel does not come in, people will start to die because of the lack of fuel. Exactly as from when, I don't know. But it will be sooner rather than later," said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

As of late Thursday night, there was no further word from the companies, Paltel and Jawwal, whose internet, mobile phone and landline networks remained inoperable.

Palestinian civilians have suffered under Israel's weeks-long military campaign in retaliation for an October 7 attack by Hamas that Israel says killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Gaza health authorities - deemed reliable by the United Nations - say at least 11,500 people have been confirmed killed in an Israeli bombardment and ground invasion - more than 4,700 of them children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked by US television's CBS News on Thursday whether Israel's killing of thousands of Palestinians would fuel hatred in a new generation.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel's attempts to minimise civilian casualties were "not successful", and he accused Hamas of preventing civilians from moving to safer locations.

"Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn't have any because we're doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm's way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm's way," Mr Netanyahu said.

"So we send leaflets, (we) call them on their cell phones, and we say: 'leave'. And many have left," he added.

The Israeli military's chief of staff said Israel was close to destroying Hamas' military system in the northern Gaza Strip and there were signs the army was taking its campaign to other parts of the enclave of 2.3 million people.

Israel distributed pamphlets telling civilians to leave four towns in southern Gaza, areas Gazans had been previously told would be safe.