Israeli Forces Bomb 70 Sites in Gaza Strip... Partially Occupy Outskirts of Rafah

The Israeli military, engaged in a war against the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, has conducted airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and occupied parts of areas densely populated by Palestinian refugees.

On the 6th (local time), black smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 18th (local time), the Israeli military stated in a press release, "In the past day in the Gaza Strip, we bombed 70 terrorist targets, including weapons storage facilities, military infrastructure, terrorists threatening the Israeli military, and military buildings." The Israeli military also disclosed that on the 17th, they killed Islam Hamaiseh, a key figure of the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad (PIJ), in Jenin, a city in the West Bank under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to the Israeli military, Hamaiseh was a so-called 'high-ranking terrorist operative' linked to PIJ's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks in the Jenin area.

Airstrikes continued on the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Earlier this year, the Israeli military withdrew from the northern Gaza region, but as Hamas showed signs of reactivation, attacks resumed from the beginning of this month. The Israeli military deployed forces, including tanks, to the northern Jabaliya refugee camp. The Kamal Odwan Hospital, the only operating hospital in northern Gaza, reported that 28 bodies were transported from the morning of the 18th, most of whom were women and children. However, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adrai refuted this on X (formerly Twitter), stating in a press release, "The military eliminated a sabotage group that fled to the roof after a clash in a building in Jabaliya and fired shots at military forces."

The Israeli military also occupied parts of the outskirts of Rafah, the southernmost border city. Rafah is densely populated with Palestinian refugees and is home to armed militants affiliated with Hamas and PIJ. On the 17th, the Israeli military deployed tanks to the eastern suburbs of Rafah and engaged in combat with Hamas and PIJ militants using anti-tank missiles, mortars, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Hamas and PIJ claimed to have killed numerous Israeli soldiers.