From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
IDF says fighters trying to evacuate with civilians captured in Khan Younis
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says its 98th Division continues to operate in the Hamad Town residential complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where troops captured dozens of terror operatives over the past day.
The division’s Commando Brigade has been raiding Hamas sites in the neighborhood, where the IDF says troops seized a large amount of weapons.
The army says over the past day troops facilitated the evacuation of civilians from the area, during which the soldiers nabbed dozens of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives who tried to flee with the civilians.
Meanwhile, in central Gaza, the IDF says the Nahal Brigade killed some 20 gunmen over the past day, including with sniper fire and by calling in tank shelling and airstrikes.
In northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, the IDF says the Gaza Division spotted a Hamas cell flying a drone while troops operated in the area. A fighter jet then struck the cell, the IDF says.
Across Gaza, the Air Force carried out strikes against more than 50 Hamas targets over the past day, the IDF says. The targets included rocket launching positions, weapon depots, tunnel shafts, and other infrastructure, it adds.
