TEL AVIV, Jan 27 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ) continued raids on targets of Palestinian groups in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, eliminating many armed radicals within 24 hours, the IDF press service reported on Saturday.
“In Khan Yunis, IDF troops conducted targeted raids on terrorist sites, including a weapons depot containing a large amount of ammunition, firearms and various technical equipment. IDF troops sent a UAV, which eliminated three terrorists who were trying to plant explosives near military. The IDF also killed many armed terrorists in close combat,» the report said.
The military added that an IDF tank fired at a group of radicals at one of the sites in Khan Yunis when they opened fire on Israeli forces with grenade launchers. The liquidation of seven radicals is reported.
The army command previously stated that Hamas's military potential had been eliminated in the northern Gaza Strip and that the military would now focus on the central and southern parts of the enclave. Over the course of 3 months of the ground operation, the IDF eliminated about 9 thousand Hamas fighters, whose personnel, according to various estimates, numbered about 30-40 thousand people.
In January, the IDF withdrew from Gaza one of four divisions that were involved in the ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu has regularly said that fighting will continue until all of his goals are achieved, which include the complete dismantling of Hamas's military and political infrastructure, the release of all hostages and assurances that the Palestinian enclave will no longer pose a threat to the State of Israel.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
At the end of October 2023, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
The number of victims of Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 25 thousand, more than 62 thousand people were injured.
Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage from Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.