TEL AVIV, October 30. /TASS/. Israeli troops and tanks are gradually advancing in the Gaza Strip, expanding ground operations according to plan, Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

"Over the past day, we continued to expand ground operations in the Gaza Strip, with additional infantry, armored, artillery and engineering forces entering the Strip. The offensive will continue and intensify in accordance with the planned phases of the war and its objectives," he said.

According to the spokesman, "armored operations are being expanded to achieve two objectives: the destruction of Hamas and the return home of the hostages that were kidnapped and are being held in Gaza." Hagari added that he "would not provide data on the specific location of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip."

The IDF said its information on the use of the hospital by Hamas is based on a wide range of intelligence sources.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by mass killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking more than 200 hostages, including children, women and elderly people. Hamas regards the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and has started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.