The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have "more or less" restored full control over the border fence with Gaza, after it was breached by Hamas militants following its October 7 surprise attack, a military official said.
Addressing a briefing, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said: "Looking towards the south, we have more or less restored full control over the border fence. Hopefully in the next few hours it will be final."
Hecht said Israeli forces have secured communities around the border and have nearly completed evacuations in the area, adding that there were two small firefights overnight in the Sa'ad and Kissufim communities.
"We are focusing our offensive in the Gaza Strip and our airstrikes," CNN quoted the spokesperson as saying.
In his address, Hecht also advised any Palestinians leaving Gaza to go to Egypt.
"I am aware that the Rafah crossing is still open," the BBC quoted the IDF official as saying.
"Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out".
On Monday, the IDF said that the military had regained control over all the communities in southern Israel.
In a separate statement on Tuesday morning, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) claimed that it has hit 200 Hamas and other militant group targets in Gaza in overnight airstrikes.
In a social media post, the IAF said dozens of fighter jets launched strikes on the Rimal and Khan Yunis areas, destroying targets, including command and control, a weapons storage site they say was inside a mosque, and the home of an alleged Hamas commander.
Bodies of 1,500 Hamas militants found in Israeli territory
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday said that the bodies of some 1,500 Hamas militants were found inside Israeli territory as fighting rages between the two sides since the October 7 unprecedented attack.
In its latest update, the IDF also said that 900 Israelis have been killed since the attack, including 123 soldiers whose names have been released to the media, Sky News reported.
Dozens of Israeli fighter jets struck more than 200 targets in Gaza's densely populated Rimal and Khan Yunis neighbourhoods overnight, the military said.
The IDF said it struck an Islamic Jihad terror infrastructure in Khan Yunis, a weapons storage site of Hamas militants located inside a mosque, and "operational terror infrastructure used by Hamas terror operatives," among other targets, CNN reported.
The jets also struck a number of "operational residences" belonging to Hamas operatives, as well as a Hamas operational command center located inside a mosque, it added.
Addressing a briefing on Tuesday morning, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said: "Looking towards the south, we have more or less restored full control over the border fence (in Gaza). Hopefully in the next few hours it will be final."
Hecht said Israeli forces have secured communities around the border and have nearly completed evacuations in the area, adding that there were two small firefights overnight in the Sa'ad and Kissufim communities.
"We are focusing our offensive in the Gaza Strip and our airstrikes," CNN quoted the spokesperson as saying.
(With inputs from IANS)
