Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
On November 17, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that operations in the Gaza Strip continued overnight, with fighter jets targeting positions of the Hamas Movement and troops battling Palestinian fighters.
Airstrikes hit “many” positions of Hamas, including weapons storage facilities, as well as several fighters, according to the IDF.
The IDF also said that troops from the Bislamach Brigade and the elite combat engineering Yahalom unit raided a Palestinian Islamic Jihad outpost in northern Gaza, locating Badr-3 heavy rockets, drones and other weapons. The outpost was later destroyed.
However, a photo released by the IDF shows mock-ups of the Badr-3 which the Islamic Jihad used to showcase during parades.
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Separately, the IDF said that troops from the Givati Infantry Brigade meanwhile battled Hamas fighters holed up in a school. Several gunmen were killed in the fighting, and the troops later recovered weaponry.
Troops from the Nahal Infantry Brigade, Paratroopers Brigade, and the 460th Armored Brigade also raided numerous other Hamas positions overnight, discovering assault rifles, explosive devices, RPGs, anti-tank missile launchers and other equipment, according to the IDF.
From its side, Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, didn’t release any report on the battles in northern Gaza on November 17, likely because communications in the Strip have been facing difficulties.
A day earlier, the brigades said that their fighters destroyed a house where a group of Israeli troops were situated and targeted 21 vehicles of the IDF in different parts of northern Gaza. A video showing Israeli soldiers seconds before they were killed by a booby-trapped tunnel in the city of Beit Hanon earlier this week was also released.
The death toll in Gaza has reportedly exceeded 11,500. Despite this, Israel appears to be preparing to further develop its ground operations in the Strip. The IDF has already called on civilians to leave the eastern parts of the southern city of Khan Yunis.
