The IDF on Thursday launched a ground assault in the central Gaza Strip, near the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Following a series of unusual strikes overnight and the bombing of a tower block in the morning hours, the IDF announced that the 162nd Division began a targeted operation in the area overnight, noting that fighter jets and drones attacked dozens of terror sites above and below ground.
IDF strikes in central Gaza
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
"Prior to the entrance of the troops to the area, IAF fighter jets and additional aircraft struck terrorist infrastructure above and below the ground in the central Gaza Strip," a statement read.
"During the operation, the Israeli Navy conducted a number of targeted strikes along the coastline in the central Gaza Strip in order to assist ground troops operating in the area."
During the operational activity overnight, IDF troops identified an armed terrorist who exited a terror tunnel shaft adjacent to IDF troops and entered a military structure. An IDF fighter jet struck the terrorist as he was approaching the troops. Furthermore, IDF troops observed and located a number of launchers in the area.
The operation in central Gaza is expected to last several days, aiming to extend southward the corridor that bisects the Gaza Strip, known as Road 749. So far, the IDF has encountered no resistance or clashes and clarifies that ground forces are not entering the refugee camps themselves, Nuseirat and Al-Bureij.
Overnight, the forces advanced in the area, locating weapons at several sites. This raid follows a series of intelligence-based probe operations in northern and central Gaza, beginning with a massive assault that included several sorties lasting through the morning hours.
The Palestinians reported heavy bombardments norther of Nuseirat, attacks near mosques, military vehicles entering the refugee camp and damage to residential towers. Al Jazeera reported that five were killed and several injured in attacks on a school and a residential building in Nuseirat.