The IDF has killed at least 160 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists since the beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls began last week, the military said on Tuesday.
The announcement came as incoming rocket sirens sounded in Gaza border communities on Tuesday morning after a rare 6-hour lull in rocket fire through the night.
The overnight quiet came despite a threat by Hamas that they would fire on Tel Aviv should the IDF continue to strike residential buildings, including high-rises.During the day, the IDF identified and attacked another an anti-tank unit positioned in the city of Khan Younis in Gaza - preventing thecell from firing at Israel.Later on, the IDF struck the houses of 12 senior Hamas commanders in the last 24 hours, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.The most recent strikes targeted the homes of three commanders in the Gaza Strip.Targets consisted of the deputy commander of the northern brigade in Gaza City, the home of a company commander in Hamas' reserve battalion in Khan Younis and the home of a company commander in Hamas' reserve battalion in a separate neighborhood.Additionally, the IDF targeted nine underground and above-ground rocket launch sites along the Gaza Strip, as of this morning.
The IDF also thwarted an operation by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in the central Gaza Strip, according to the IDF Spokesperson.
The PIJ terrorists were preparing batteries to launch rockets into Israel.
IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters that the IDF continued to carry out strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets overnight, including 10-12 multi-barrel rocket launchers, six of which were ready to be fired towards Israel’s Gush Dan Region.
A total of 65 launchers, which can fire between four-nine rockets within seconds, have been destroyed in the past three days.
The Israeli Air Force also struck the “D” phase of Hamas’s “Metro” underground network. According to Zilberman, 60 planes struck 65 targets with 110 munitions, destroying some 10-15 km of network.
“We know the grid of the network underground and every entry shaft,” Zilberman said, adding that destroying the network pushes the Hamas operatives to act above ground.
According to Zilberman, between 125-130 Hamas operatives and 30 Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives have been killed since the beginning of the operation last week. The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported the death toll at 200, including 59 children and 35 women. Another 1,300 have been injured.Zilberman said that IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi spoke twice in recent days with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley about the operation in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF also struck several residences of battalion and unit commanders, including the home belonging to the Gaza battalion commander who is responsible for firing rockets towards the southern city of Ashkelon.
The IAF also struck numerous targets in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City and according to Zilberman will continue to hit targets there for the next 12 hours.
Gaza health officials said on Tuesday they had no reports of Palestinians killed overnight in ongoing Israeli strikes on the enclave, the first apparent reduction of casualties since fighting erupted on May 10.
Meanwhile, on the northern border 6 rockets were fired from Lebanese territory towards Israel by a Palestinian group. None of the rockets crossed into Israeli territory and the IDF responded with tank and artillery fire.Reuters contributed to this report.