TEL AVIV, February 4. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted a raid on a compound housing the headquarters of a Hamas commander in Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, the army press service reported.

"IDF troops conducted a targeted raid on a compound used by the commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade to direct operations and located AK-47 rifles, ammunition, military equipment, and technological assets there," the press service said. "IDF troops also located RPGs inside of terrorist’s residences," the agency added.

"In additional operations in the area of Khan Yunis, IDF troops killed a terrorist who was spotted approaching the troops, and also directed an aircraft that struck and killed two terrorists approaching a compound. An IDF fighter jet struck an Islamic Jihad sniper," the press service said.

"In the northern Gaza Strip, IDF troops killed seven Hamas terrorists. During targeted raids on a number of compounds, IDF troops located seven AK-47 rifles, three pistols, military equipment, ammunition, and grenades," the statement said. "Over the past day, IDF fighter jets struck a number of Hamas terror targets, including terror infrastructure and launch posts. Naval forces also struck Hamas targets and continued to assist ground troops with fire cover and observation activities," the press service noted.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. 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. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.