TEL AVIV, February 6. /TASS/. Dozens of radicals have been neutralized and around 80 have been detained on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
"IDF troops are continuing to operate in western Khan Yunis in order to secure new areas above and below ground. The forces have encountered armed Hamas terrorists wearing civilian clothing who were preparing attacks on IDF troops in the area. Over the past day, dozens of terrorists have been killed and approximately 80 individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity have been apprehended, including a number of terrorists that took part in the October 7th massacre," it said. "In other operations, IDF snipers killed over 15 terrorists. <…> During targeted raids, IDF troops located numerous weapons, including grenades, AK-47 rifles, five RPGs, explosive devices, and ammunition."
According to the IDF, many terrorists were neutralized in raids in the northern Gaza Strip. "IDF missile ships identified a terrorist cell in the area where IDF troops in the central Gaza Strip were operating. During joint ground, naval, and aerial activity, the terrorist cell was struck and a number of the terrorists were killed," it said.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.