Israel-Gaza updates: IDF says it exposed Hamas tunnel under Shifa Hospital

The Israel Defense Force's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, claimed his forces are "quite close" to completely destroying Hamas' military system in northern Gaza.

"We will complete it. We have some finishing to do, but we are getting close to it nicely," Halevi told commanders in a video published by the IDF.

Halevi said the IDF will continue its activity in the Gaza Strip and will "kill [Hamas] commanders and operatives and destroy the infrastructure."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday that "over the last 24 hours we have gained [operational] control of the western area of Gaza City. The next phase has begun -- the forces are acting precisely and decisively."

"The further we take this operation, [the more we] increase the pressure on Hamas and succeed in eliminating their terror infrastructure including headquarters and tunnels, while also taking down [Hamas] leadership and operatives," he added.

Senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh stressed Thursday that its forces will defeat the Israelis, saying, "Our people and their strong resistance have thwarted the enemy’s goals and plans to displace our people or recover their hostages by force."

The Israel Defense Forces said it's still operating at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, searching the hospital floor-by-floor as doctors and patients remain sheltered inside.

The IDF said during its searches at the hospital forces have found Hamas intelligence material, weapons and information about the hostages.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterated that the U.S. is "still convinced of the soundness" of its intelligence that Hamas is using Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital as a command center.

"We have our own intelligence that convinces us that Hamas was using Al-Shifa as a command-and-control node, and most likely as well as a storage facility," Kirby said. "And they were sheltering themselves in a hospital, using the hospital as a shield against military action and placing the patients and medical staff at a greater risk. We are still convinced of the soundness of that intelligence."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Seventy percent of the population in southern Gaza had no access to clean water as of Wednesday, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, told Al Jazeera.

He said raw sewage is "starting to flow in the streets," and if fuel isn't brought into Gaza soon, he warned, "We run the risk to have to suspend the entire humanitarian operation."

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War is one of the world’s worst public health crisesAbout 2 billion people, which is a quarter of the world’s population, is impacted by war each year.

Reuters