IDF strikes Gaza City
The IDF said on Monday that its troops launched a counter-terrorism operation in Gaza City, including in the UNRWA headquarters after intelligence indicated the presence of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure, operatives, weapons and investigation and detention rooms there.
According to the military, civilians were warned ahead of the start of the operation to evacuate, and were given a defined route that would be opened for them to move to safety.
Civilians flee Gaza City as IDF attacks
"The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations continue to systematically operate and carry out terrorist activity from inside civilian infrastructure. The IDF will continue to operate against the terrorist organizations in accordance with international law," the IDF said in a statement.
Earlier, Palestinians reported IDF tanks and forces entering the city as civilians fled. The fighting was mostly in the southwestern sections of the city, where IDF forces had not operated in since December.
The operation targeted Hamas command and control centers rebuilt after the early days of fighting. According to the military, its forces located two ready-to-use rocket launch sites in Khan Younis and in Gaza City and destroyed them. The IDF also said its troops killed more than 30 terrorists in the area of Rafah and located additional tunnel shafts and confiscated weapons in the area