TEL AVIV, August 6. /TASS/. Fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force have struck five Palestinian settlements in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reported.

According to the newspaper, Deir el-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip was hit. In addition, the Israeli Air Force carried out operations in the settlements of Qarawat Bani Zeid and Kafr Ein on the outskirts of Ramallah, in the village of Baqa al-Hatab east of Qalqilya and in the town of Azun west of Nablus.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), meanwhile, reported that Israeli soldiers had eliminated nearly 45 armed Palestinian radicals in the Gaza Strip.

According to its information, some 20 radicals were killed in the central part of the enclave in close-quarters combat and aerial strikes. Another 25 radicals were eliminated in raids in the city of Rafah in the south of the enclave.

The army press service also said that Israeli servicemen wiped out one of Hamas military wing commanders, Mohammed Mahasneh. According to the Israeli military, he was responsible for smuggling operations, including weapons. "Mahasneh was primarily involved in smuggling operations at sea, but also operated to smuggle equipment through tunnels and border crossings. His elimination significantly degrades the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization to smuggle equipment into the Gaza Strip," the IDF emphasized.