IDF kills dozens of terrorists as ground operation returns to Gaza City

In addition to ground operations, intensive air strikes hit Hamas gunmen and terror infrastructure throughout the Strip.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

IDF troops working in combined ground and air operations eliminated several dozen more Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip over the last day to add to a considerable 48-hour total, the army announced Monday.

In Rafah, the IDF killed more than 30 terrorists while finding several tunnel shafts and weapons caches. This doubles the number of Hamas men the military has eliminated since Saturday.

A rocket launcher just used in the past day to fire on communities in the Gaza envelope was destroyed as well.

Meanwhile, soldiers of the 98th Division continued their operations in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, killing dozens of terrorists who were involved in launching rockets at Israel as well as targeting IDF troops with anti-tank fire.

The air force was called in to aid in their elimination, as well as to help destroy terror infrastructure in the city, including one rocket launching site.

The army has eliminated well over 100 Hamas fighters men since returning to Shejaiya 10 days ago, and confiscated many weapons, including explosive devices and automatic rifles.

The IAF targeted several other quarters in the Gazan capital as well, after warning civilians to leave the neighborhoods for safe zones.

The Al-Ahli Hospital in the Zeitun neighborhood was evacuated as a result, with Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reporting that medical teams transported patients north to other medical facilities in the Strip.

Al-Ahli is the hospital where a Palestinian Islamic Jihad landed in a misfiring early in the war and Hamas blamed Israel for a non-existent massacre that the international press gullibly reported and then had to retract.

In additional intense action, IAF jets overnight hit terror infrastructure in other areas of the Gaza Strip, including sites used to plan and carry out attacks against IDF troops in the coastal enclave.

Working in cooperation with ground forces, a drone was also sent to kill a Hamas sniper who had previously shot at IDF forces, and a missile strike destroyed an already-primed rocket launching site in Khan Yunis.

Khan Yunis was also targeted overnight Saturday, when the IAF hit the municipality building, which had contained a tunnel shaft leading underground that was used by Hamas for military purposes.

To minimize harm to civilians, many were first evacuated from the area.

The IDF took the opportunity to remind other countries of Hamas’ war crimes as well as Israel’s policy of always trying to protect noncombatants in a battle zone.

“Before the attack, several steps were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians,” an IDF spokesperson said. “As part of those efforts, a preliminary population evacuation was carried out.”

“Hamas operates within the humanitarian space and regularly violates international law, systematically exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terrorist acts against the State of Israel.”