TEL AVIV, November 22. /TASS/. The Israeli servicemen have eliminated in the Gaza Strip several Palestinian radicals from the Hamas movement who, according to the army, participated in the October 7, 2023 attack, the press service reported.

According to it, a group of five radicals was eliminated in an airstrike on military infrastructure in the Beit Lahia neighborhood in the northern part of the enclave. Among those eliminated were the commander of one of the companies of the Nukhba special unit and the commander of another company of Hamas militant formations.

The military said that those eliminated "commanded the invasion of Israeli territory on October 7th and led the massacres and kidnappings on the Mefalsim road."

The army added that the operation in the Beit Lahia area, which led to the elimination of this group of radicals, is still ongoing. "The IDF emphasizes that the area in question is an active combat zone," the statement said. The servicemen noted that their strikes against Hamas targets are targeted and additional measures are taken before they are carried out to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. According to the latest data from the Israeli side, the radicals are holding 101 people hostage in Gaza.