The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that its ground, aerial and naval forces struck approximately 200 targets in Gaza over the past day after announcing it was expanding its ground operations.
In northern Gaza, the IDF said its troops located a Hamas weapons compound inside a civilian structure, which was located adjacent to schools, a mosque and a medical clinic.
“Explosive belts adapted for children, dozens of mortar shells, hundreds of grenades, and intelligence documents were found inside the compound,” the IDF said in a statement.
In northern Gaza, “IDF troops identified a number of terrorists that exited a Hamas military compound containing observation assets. The ground forces directed an aerial strike on the compound and the terrorists were killed,” the statement said.
In Jabalya in northern Gaza, IDF troops “together with an aircraft and artillery, killed seven terrorists and destroyed four Hamas observation assets distributed in the area,” according to the statement.
The IDF soldiers also says it located numerous weapons, including dozens of grenades and explosives during what it calls “a targeted raid on a military command center” in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
CNN is working to independently confirm IDF statements about their operations in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including reported civilian deaths or injuries.
At least 20,258 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, with another 53,688 people wounded, according to a statement from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza on Saturday.