From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 17, 2024
IDF says dozens of gunmen killed in battles across Gaza over past day
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Dozens of gunmen were killed during operations in the Gaza Strip over the past day, the IDF says, as the military has expanded its operation in Khan Younis.
In a morning update, the military says that Israeli Air Force fighter jets and drones struck more than 40 targets across Gaza, including buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, and a launcher used to fire rockets at the Re’im area last night.
In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where the 98th Division launched a new operation last week, the IDF says that the offensive has been “expanded” in the past day.
The IDF says troops with the 98th Division killed several gunmen and located and destroyed dozens of Hamas sites.
The division also directed an IAF drone strike on a cell of terrorists that fired a barrage of five rockets at the border community of Nirim on Friday, according to the military. The cell was killed in the strike.
Further south, in Rafah, the IDF says the 162nd Division continues to operate in the northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood, where troops killed several gunmen and destroyed sites belonging to terror groups in the past day.
In the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, reservists with the 252nd Division killed several more terror operatives, including by directing a drone strike on one who had launched rockets at troops, the IDF says.
The Israeli Navy, with shelling from its vessels, also killed several gunmen in central Gaza, who the IDF says “posed a threat to the forces in the area.”
