TEL AVIV, April 21. /TASS/. Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi has endorsed plans for continuing the war in the Southern Command, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"Today (Sunday), the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment and approval of plans for the continuation of the war in the Southern Command, with the Commanding Officer of the Southern Command, MG Yaron Finkelman and other commanders," it said, providing no further details.

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. 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.