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Middle East conflict

Israeli army expands ground operations in Gaza, hits 600 Hamas targets

It is also reported that IDF troops identified armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching post in the area of the Al-Azhar University, and guided a fighter jet to strike the targets

© REUTERS/ Evelyn Hockstein

TEL AVIV, October 30. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues to expand its ground operations in the Gaza Strip, hitting more than 600 military targets of the radical Hamas movement in the enclave in recent days, the army press service said.

"Overnight, the IDF continued ground operations in the Gaza Strip. In addition, over the last few days, the IDF struck over 600 terror targets, including weapons depots, dozens of anti-tank missile launching positions, as well as hideouts and staging grounds used by the Hamas terrorist organization," the statement said.

"During clashes with terrorists in the Gaza Strip, IDF (the Israel Defense Forces - TASS) troops killed dozens of terrorists who barricaded themselves in buildings and tunnels, and attempted to attack the troops. Overnight, IDF troops identified armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching post in the area of the Al-Azhar University, and guided a fighter jet to strike them," the military said in a statement.

The military added that "an IDF aircraft guided by IDF ground troops struck a staging post inside a building belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, with over 20 Hamas terrorist operatives inside it."

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 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.

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