TEL AVIV, November 1. /TASS/. The Israeli army has hit over 11,000 radical targets in the Gaza Strip since October 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
"The IDF's ground activity in the Gaza Strip continues; since the beginning of the war, the IDF has struck over 11,000 targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip," the statement reads.
According to the army press service, "IDF troops identified several Hamas terrorists who barricaded themselves in a multi-story building - located near a school, medical center, and government offices - in the area of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip." "IDF troops directed the IAF to strike the terrorists," the statement said.
"Furthermore, IDF troops identified a vehicle carrying anti-tank missiles driving toward the forces operating in the Gaza Strip. In response, the troops directed an aircraft to fire toward the vehicle. A hit was identified," the document added.
Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking people, including women, children and the elderly, hostage. 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 announced a total blockade of Gaza and launched ground operations in the enclave, also carrying out air strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank. On October 27, Israeli Army Spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced the expansion of ground operations in Gaza.