The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday continued to attack targets across the Gaza Strip, with people in the sealed-off coastal area having long run out of places to hide.
The IDF said fighter jets flew renewed attacks on terrorists near Gaza City in the north, with ground troops helping to eliminate them.
Troops discovered and destroyed explosive devices in a kindergarten, according to the report.
Fighters were also killed in the south of Gaza and further tunnel shafts were uncovered, according to the IDF.
In the city of Khan Younis, the Israeli army also reportedly stormed the headquarters of Hamas, the Palestinian extremist organization that took control of Gaza by force in 2007 and is listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU and the US.
Hamas’ intelligence headquarters was also located there, an Israeli official said on Saturday evening.
IDF forces are currently intensifying their campaign to eliminate Hamas from Gaza. After initially focusing on the north including Gaza City, the aerial and ground operation is now zooming in on the centre and south of the coastal area.
In the past, the IDF had repeatedly told Gazans to flee to the south to escape the fighting, and hundreds of thousands are sheltering there.
In the north, Israel’s army says it is in the process of taking full control of the area. According to the Israeli army spokesman, the operation is currently focussed on the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza City, the Tufah district.
The latest Gaza war was triggered by Hamas and other groups’ brutal terrorist attacks against Israel when they rampaged through Israeli border towns on October 7, killing some 1,200 people.
Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has now killed more than 21,670 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza. The figures cannot be confirmed, but the UN and other observers point out that the authority’s figures have been credible in the past.
