Last updated: 24.12.2023, 00:28
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The Israeli army continues to fight in densely populated areas such as the southern city of Khan Yunis. © Mohammed Talatene/dpa
The war in the Gaza Strip continues relentlessly. The Israeli army is escalating the fighting on the ground. According to their own statements, the soldiers repeatedly come across Hamas weapons caches.
Tel Aviv/Gaza - The Israeli army expanded its ground operations in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, according to its own statements. According to army spokesman Daniel Hagari, the troops were involved in "complex battles in densely populated areas." In doing so, they would penetrate into other strongholds of the Islamist Hamas.
So far, ground forces have destroyed or seized about 30,000 explosive devices, including anti-tank missiles and rockets owned by the Islamist Hamas. The military had earlier announced that it had killed a senior Hamas official who was responsible for supplying its own weapons.
Network of tunnels
The soldiers continued to fight in densely populated areas such as the southern city of Khan Yunis, detecting "terrorist infrastructures," especially in the tunnels underground, the army spokesman said. For this reason, the technical forces have been significantly strengthened. The capacities of the division fighting there would be further expanded in the coming days. The destruction of the tunnels is time-consuming.
Below the Gaza Strip, a whole network of tunnels stretches for many kilometers, in which, according to Israel, a number of Hamas terrorists are hiding and where hostages from Israel are also being held. In order to resist Israel's bombs from the air, some tunnels reach dozens of meters underground. At the same time, the terrorists use the tunnels to appear out of nowhere and attack from behind. Many of the tunnels are booby-trapped to kill Israeli soldiers who enter them.
The war was triggered by the worst attack in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups near the Gaza Strip border on October 7. On the Israeli side, more than 1200,<> people were killed as a result. Israel responded with massive air strikes and began a ground offensive in late October. In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed coastal area, Israel has recently come under increasing international pressure. Dpa