TEL AVIV, March 25. /TASS/. In an operation carried out last week at the Al-Shifa medical center in the Gaza Strip, Israeli security forces detained about 500 terrorists with links to the radical Palestinian movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces reports.

"The army and the General Security Service continue to conduct high-precision operational actions near Al-Shifa hospital, preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and equipment. To date, troops have detained about 500 terrorists associated with the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and found weapons in the area," the report says.

On March 23, the army press service reported that during raids at the Al-Shifa center, Israeli troops "eliminated more than 170 terrorists" and "interrogated more than 800 suspects."

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after the infiltration of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, accompanied by the killing of residents of border settlements and the taking over 240 hostages. The radicals described their attack as a response to the actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza and began to conduct strikes on the sector as well as certain areas of Lebanon and Syria, after which it launched a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank of the Jordan River.