Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
On November 23, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had struck some 300 targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day.
The targets, according to the IDF, included command centers, tunnels, weapons depots, weapon manufacturing sites and anti-tank missile launch positions.
Ground operations in Gaza also continued overnight, with the IDF saying its 215th Artillery Regiment struck several targets in the Jabalia refugee camp as troops operated in the area. A drone strike was also carried out against a group of Hamas fighters moving toward Israeli forces, and an observation post was targeted with a guided munition, according to the IDF.
In another incident, the IDF said tanks and a drone struck a group of Hamas fighters amid a gun battle led by the Golani Brigade.
Combat engineering forces of the 924th Battalion also found and destroyed a Hamas tunnel shaft in the city of Beit Hanoun, the IDF said, adding that two other tunnel shaft were found by troops of the Bislamach Brigade and the 14th Brigade in a mosque and a residential home, along with weapons.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, released footage showing recent attacks on Israeli tanks, armored personnel carriers and bulldozers.
From its side, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that its fighters targeted 11 vehicles of the IDF in different parts of Gaza with rocket-propelled grenades and explosive devices overnight.
The overnight clashes in Gaza came after the announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas that includes a four-day ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages from the Strip in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
The agreement, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar was supposed to enter into effect later on November 22 or in the morning of next day. However, there was a delay for unknown reasons.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on November 23 that talks between Israel and Hamas are “progressing positively” and that an announcement will be made in the coming hours regarding the exact time that the ceasefire will begin.
