Military operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are ongoing, notwithstanding the war in Iran, the IDF said Wednesday
In the northern Gaza Strip, soldiers from the Givati Brigade killed three terrorists who were approaching them near Jabalya, it said. The troops also destroyed a building being used for logistical planning and killed two terrorists elsewhere in the area.
The IDF on Tuesday said it had invaded Jabalya for the first time since the war in Iran began last Friday. Since the October 7 massacre, the IDF has invaded the Jabalya area several times.
Military operations also continued in Khan Yunis, the IDF said. Soldiers located a package that appeared to be humanitarian aid but was actually booby-trapped. They fired at it, causing it to explode and collapse the building.
Troops also located and destroyed military infrastructure, including launchers, booby-trapped buildings, and tunnel shafts.
Four divisions are currently operating in the Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said, adding that soldiers hit 75 terrorist targets over the past 24 hours, including direct combat above and below ground.
“Our goals are clear: The IDF is operating on all of Israel’s fronts to protect its citizens,” he said.
Asked about the status of the Gaza war and the effect on a hostage and ceasefire deal, Defrin said the war goals there had not changed.
“The goals remain the same: Returning the hostages and disabling Hamas’s capabilities,” he said. “We won’t be able to exist alongside a Hamas regime on our border; this is happening at the same time as the fight against Iran.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 30 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and strikes on Wednesday.
Palestinian medics said airstrikes on homes in the Maghazi refugee camp and Zeitoun in central and northern Gaza had killed at least 14 people, while five others were killed in an airstrike on a tent encampment in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Eleven others were killed by Israeli fire at crowds of displaced Palestinians awaiting aid trucks brought in by the UN on Salahuddin Road in central Gaza, the Palestinian medics said.
The IDF said it was looking into the reported deaths of people waiting for food. Regarding the other strikes, it said it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” and “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”
Troops continue anti-terrorist operations
In the northern West Bank, troops continued anti-terrorist operations, focusing on the more peripheral areas, where terrorists have been seeking refuge, the IDF said.
Five battalions were redeployed to the West Bank, focusing on the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, the IDF, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the Israel Police said Wednesday.
The Nahal Brigade, which had been fighting in the Gaza Strip until now, had been transferred to the West Bank, they said.
Seven terrorists have been detained, and weapons were confiscated, in a raid of hundreds of structures.
The Nahal troops operated on Tuesday night in the town of Meithalun, south of Jenin.
In Kalkilya and nearby towns, Salfit and Jayus, troops arrested three and confiscated four different types of weapons.
Throughout the night, five terrorist suspects were detained in several towns in the northern West Bank.
Some of them were affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, had made and thrown explosives at troops, and planned a terrorist attack.
Overnight, in the Palestinian town of Walaja, near Jerusalem, a man armed with a knife tried to stab soldiers who were on site and to steal their weapons. Soldiers shot him.
Operation Iron Wall against terrorism in the West Bank began in January and mainly targeted refugee camps, emptying them. Troops have routinely found and confiscated weapons and cash.