TEL AVIV, November 23. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has destroyed up to 12 battalions of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas during the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, reserve IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

"We’ve been making good, steady, methodical progress so far in northern Gaza. I think we’ve been engaged with and taken out of action between 11 to 12 of the 12 Hamas battalions in northern Gaza, which is good progress," he told the ILTV TV channel.

"Not all of them are out of commission yet, but their main fighting capabilities have been significantly affected by our activity, which is good, but there is the other half, another 12 Hamas battalions that are in central and southern Gaza," the spokesman added. "And, of course, I think everybody understands that in order to prevent a second October 7, in order to prevent another terror attack from Gaza, we have to make sure we take out all of Hamas capabilities. That’s what the IDF intends to do," he said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 200 hostages, including women, children 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.