TEL AVIV, July 16. /TASS/. Around 14,000 Palestinian radicals have been either eliminated or detained over the nine moths of Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"IDF ground, air and naval forces have been operating in the Gaza Strip for 263 days in order to achieve the objectives of the war. The forces have eliminated and apprehended approximately 14,000 terrorists. Among the eliminated terrorists are six brigade commanders, over 20 battalion commanders, and approximately 150 company commanders," it said.

"So far, the IDF has struck approximately 37,000 targets from the air within the Gaza Strip, and more than 25,000 terrorist infrastructure and launch sites," it said, adding that over this period the Israeli military has eliminated half of the Hamas armed wing’s command.

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.