The Israeli army announced strikes on dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip

Over the past day, the Israeli army has used aircraft and drones to strike dozens of targets linked to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This was reported by The Times of Israel today, citing information from the military.

The targets, according to the military, included infrastructure, missile launch positions, gunmen and observation posts. The Israeli Navy has also carried out attacks along the coast of the central part of the Gaza Strip, the paper writes on its website.

Soldiers of the Jewish state also shot dead two Palestinian gunmen who opened fire at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank on Saturday, writes The Times of Israel. The incident occurred at the Salem checkpoint and army base, near the Arab Israeli city of the same name and about 10 km from the West Bank city of Jenin.

Soldiers with the Border Defense Corps’ 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit were preparing for an ambush after several recent similar attacks at the same location when the gunman drove a vehicle into the checkpoint area. When the gunmen opened fire on the checkpoint and an adjacent base, soldiers returned fire on the pair, killing both, the Israel Defense Forces said. Assault rifles of the militants were confiscated. An image released by the IDF showed a sticker with the logo of the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad on the magazine of one of the weapons.

Fighting in the Gaza Strip began after the terrorist attacks on October 7 last year, when Hamas militants and its allies penetrated into Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli authorities, 1,200 people died in the terrorist attack and another 250 were smuggled into the Palestinian territories.

In the first and so far only ceasefire at the end of November, less than half of the hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Kac said on Saturday that Israel could postpone an upcoming ground operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip if a deal is reached to release more Israeli hostages.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said at a Sunday conference in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, that only the United States can prevent Israel from attacking the border town of Rafah in Gaza. He added that he expects an attack in the coming days. Abbas was speaking at a special session of the World Economic Forum on global cooperation, growth and energy for development.

During Saturday, protests against Israel’s progress in Gaza took place all over the world, including Boston, London and Berlin. But the demonstrators also gathered in several places in the Jewish state itself. Thousands of protesters in cities across the country rallied in support of the hostage deal and against the government on Saturday night after Hamas released separate propaganda videos showing signs of life among several Israeli captives.