TEL AVIV, November 14. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has destroyed 15,000 targets since the start of its ground operations in the Gaza Strip, IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner said at a briefing.

"I can report that as we move into day 38, the IDF has had some substantial successes, including destroying some 15,000 targets, including 300 tunnel shafts," he specified.

According to Lerner, IDF forces are also seeking out terrorist infrastructure, including places where members of the Hamas movement "are hiding out, where they are colluding, where they are planning their next attack."

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.