Tel Aviv: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday announced that fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets overnight in Gaza during which a key member of the militant group was killed.
In a statement, the military said that Jamal Musa, who was responsible for Hamas’s special security operations, was killed along with several other terrorists.
The IDF also said that it took control of a Hamas military compound in the Gaza Strip.
“IDF ground forces took control of a Hamas outpost in Gaza . In this outpost, the terrorist organisation Hamas had observation posts, training facilities for terrorist operatives, as well as terrorist tunnels. In this operation, a number of terrorists were eliminated,” the militay said in a post on X.
The statement also said that the Israeli Navy had struck Hamas command centres, anti-tank launch posts and many observation posts.
The developments come as the Israeli military claimed on Sunday that its 36th Division had reached “positions along the coast of Gaza”, and the troops were “encircling” Hamas forces in the city.
The military added that their goal is “to strike and destroy select targets, including significant assets and command and control centres belonging to the Hamas”.
“The forces divided the Strip to Gaza-north and Gaza-south and control the shoreline,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing earlier on Sunday.
“Massive attacks are currently being carried out in the northern Gaza Strip, including the killing of Hamas commanders,” he added.
Hagari repeated the calls to Gazans to evacuate themselves from northern Gaza through “a one-way corridor for civilians” to the south as more Israeli strikes are expected in the Gaza City.
In a separate briefing, the IDF spokesperson presented audio footage and images that he said were evidence that the Hamas underground infrastructure was embedded beneath hospitals located in the northern enclave.
(IANS)
