Israel Defence Forces troops continued to operate deep inside the Gaza Strip on Saturday as fighter jets struck Hamas assets across the Palestinian enclave.
In one operation, terrorists holed up in a school in the Shejaya neighbourhood of Gaza City and ambushed Israeli soldiers, who responded with fire to eliminate the threat.
The IDF published a video on Saturday of Hamas terrorists in Shejaya beating Palestinian civilians and stealing their supplies.
“The Hamas terrorist group deprives Gaza residents of food and equipment, delivering them instead to its members to satisfy their needs,” said IDF Arabic-language Spokesman Avichay Adraee. “Hamas is the enemy of the people in Gaza.”
The IDF also said Hamas was continuing to fire rockets at Israel from humanitarian-safe zones in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Palestinian terrorists on Saturday opened fire on troops from an UNRWA school and a mosque in Beit Hanoun, in the northeastern Strip.
During another operation, Israeli troops uncovered a sniper rifle and ammunition hidden inside a teddy bear at a school.
In another school nearby, soldiers uncovered weapons stashed away in classrooms, some of them inside bags bearing the UNRWA logo.
Earlier on Friday, the IDF’s 98 Paratrooper Division, under the command of Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus, engaged in intense combat in the Khan Yunis area, a key Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza.
“We positioned ourselves in the city centre. Within this combat zone, where we are, you can see all this open area, the orchards; the enemy is jumping out at us from the orchards from the tunnels,” said Goldfus.
“We are working methodically, with precision, moving from tunnel to tunnel, house to house and striking the terrorists as accurately as possible,” he added.
Khan Yunis is the second largest in the Strip and is considered the capital of Gaza’s southern district.
At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on 7 October.
Hamas currently holds 137 men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners captive in Gaza. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.
