IDF Division 98 under the command of Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus has killed dozens of Hamas terrorists as of Tuesday as part of its reinvasion of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza which started on Monday.
According to the military, it launched the reinvasion, 14 weeks after withdrawing from the area, after IDF and Shin Bet intelligence followed a consistent rise in Hamas trying to reorganize itself in the area.
The IDF said that the operation is being carried out simultaneously above and below ground to eliminate Hamas’s ability to maneuver without being seen by Israel’s aerial surveillance.
Air strikes and tank shelling have been a large part of the reinvasion, with the Israel Air Force already having carried out 50 attacks on terror infrastructure, including weapons storage facilities, lookout positions, and tunnels.
In Maghazi in central Gaza, Hamas launched several projectiles towards Israel, but the rockets did not cross into Israeli territory, with one slamming into a school in the area of Nuseirat, the IDF said Tuesday.
Both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have misfired rockets, with projectiles landing within the Gaza Strip.
The IDF has previously stated that around one-fifth of the rockets fired by terror groups land in Gaza, often killing Gazan civilians.
No IDF forces in northern Gaza
In Rafah in deep southern Gaza, despite the IDF starting to draw down on its forces, Division 162 ground forces still managed to kill dozens of Hamas terrorists in coordination with the air force.
According to the IDF, to date since the invasion of Rafah started on May 6, the military has killed over 900 Hamas forces.
Currently, there are no IDF forces in northern Gaza; the IDF finished last week several reinvasions of that area, which were carried out over recent months. Last week was the second time that IDF forces withdrew from northern Gaza following a staged first withdrawal sometime after mid-January.
In the North, the IDF said that Hezbollah attacked the Galilee, launching multiple rounds of rockets, including around 10 at a time, as well as a series of drones.
Most of the rockets or drones fired toward Kiryat Shmona and Meron were shot down, but some got through, and others exploded, causing significant fires for the first time in at least several days.
In recent months, there has been an increase in the number of fires resulting from rockets or explosions from shot-down rockets.
There were no reports of injuries on the Israeli side.
The IDF undertook several rounds of attacks on Hezbollah since last night and throughout the day, including at least two specific operations that killed more important operatives.
At least one of those killed had recently participated in firing on Israel.
Further, according to Reuters, the IDF flew aircraft over Beirut, creating sonic booms in a show of its ability to dominate Lebanese airspace even near Hezbollah’s most sensitive headquarters.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.