TEL AVIV, January 26. /TASS/. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units are engaged in "high-intensity battles" with militants of the Palestinian radical group Hamas in the downtown area of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF press service reported.

"[There is] high-intensity fighting in the center of Khan Yunis. Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck dozens of terrorist targets, including operational headquarters, arms depots, and watch posts used by Hamas terrorists," the statement said. The military noted that "five terrorists were eliminated by an airstrike while entering a Hamas military facility" in the area. Another "four terrorists firing anti-tank missiles at the troops were hit by a fighter jet and a drone," while "in yet another incident, six terrorists who posed a threat to the personnel were taken out via tank and sniper fire."

The military press service also reported that "the IDF Air Force and ground units conducted joint operations in North Gaza aimed at [eliminating] Hamas terrorist infrastructure," during which "fighter jets struck a building rigged with explosives, as well as a military facility, an anti-tank outpost and a tunnel shaft" of the radicals. Furthermore, "overnight, the IDF Navy carried out strikes against a number of terrorist targets and provided fire support to troops deployed along the coast of the Gaza Strip," the military added.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, 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 over 240 people as hostages. 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 started carrying out 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.