TEL AVIV, October 29. /TASS/. The Israeli military has struck 450 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours and continues to expand the zone of ground operations, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"During the past day, IDF fighter jets struck over 450 military targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, including operational command centers, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch posts. As part of the expansion of ground activities, combined combat forces struck terrorist cells that attempted to attack the forces and terrorist cells that planned to carry out anti-tank missile launches," the statement said, adding that "the ground forces directed IDF aircraft toward terror targets."

The press service also reported on army casualties. "Overnight, an IDF officer was severely injured due to being hit by a mortar shell in the northern Gaza Strip. In addition, an IDF soldier was moderately injured while engaging with terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip. The officer and soldier were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment," it said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking more than 200 hostages, including children, women and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.