IDF says 18 Hamas infiltrators killed in past day; army escalating strikes on Hamas

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Israeli forces killed 18 Palestinian terrorists in Israeli territory during the past day, as sweeps continue to root out the last Hamas infiltrators.

Overnight alone, troops exchanged fire with terrorists near Zikim twice; a tank killed a terrorist near the Erez crossing; and paratrooper forces killed two terrorists near Mefalsim, he says.

“These are the same terrorists who did not flee back to Gaza. They are in hiding places, near the border. That’s why the scans are [taking place] with a large number of troops. There are tens of thousands of [IDF] fighters in the area surrounding Gaza,” he says.

Hagari says some 5,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israel since Hamas launched its murderous attack on Saturday morning.

He says the army is continuing to strike with thousands of munitions across Gaza.

“We are not stopping; on the contrary, we are heading toward increased attacks. The top priority in the attacks is to eliminate senior [Hamas] officials,” Hagari says.