Israeli troops hit 150 underground Hamas sites in Gaza: IDF

GAZA: The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that their overnight ground operation in the Gaza Strip involved clashes between troops and Hamas terrorists, The Times of Israel reported. No soldiers were reported injured during these confrontations.

The IDF believes that they managed to eliminate several Hamas terrorists in the raid and also destroyed infrastructure belonging to the terrorist group.

As of now, IDF infantry, combat engineering forces, and tanks remain inside the Gaza Strip, indicating that the ground operation is ongoing. The IDF has referred to this operation as an "expanded ground activity" rather than a full ground offensive.

Additionally, the IDF fighter jets attacked about 150 underground targets in the northern Gaza Strip tonight. During the attack, terrorists of the terrorist organization Hamas were eliminated and combat tunnels, underground combat spaces and other underground terrorist infrastructures were destroyed.

Israeli fighter jets also struck Asem Abu Rakaba, the Head of Hamas' Aerial Array. Abu Rakaba was responsible for Hamas' UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defense. IDF said Rakaba took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts.

Palestinian reports from Gaza have become scarce due to disruptions in internet and phone services caused by Israeli bombardment. The extent of the IDF's operation in Gaza remains a subject of uncertainty as the situation unfolds.

In the city of Ashkelon, near the Gaza border, heavy bombardment, sustained artillery fire, and the sounds of fighter jets were heard during what seemed to be the most intense night of fighting in the ongoing war with Hamas.

The IDF announced on Friday that it was "expanding ground operations" in the Gaza Strip and "operating forcefully," although specific details about the number of troops involved were not provided.

A significant Israeli ground offensive has been anticipated since the events of October 7, in which Hamas killed over 1,400 people and took around 200 others as hostages.

It is not yet clear whether the IDF's announcement of an expanded operation marks the beginning of such a push. Hamas terrorists continued firing rockets into Israel overnight, with alarms indicating incoming rockets in towns north of Gaza.

The situation on Saturday morning saw a reduction in the sounds of war, with only sporadic explosions heard in the distance. An Israeli government spokesperson confirmed that the IDF was "expanding its ground operations" in Gaza and emphasized the determination to target the entirety of the Hamas terror and governing infrastructure within the Gaza Strip.

"But it's important to understand what's coming up," spokesperson Eylon Levy told CNN. "The days ahead are going to be long, they're going to be difficult because we're going to go after the totality of the Hamas terror and governing infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip."