Jerusalem, July 26 (EFE).- The Israeli army said in a statement on Friday that it killed at least 100 militants since launching its latest offensive in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, earlier this week, as the operations in that area continued for the fifth consecutive day.
The army statement said in a statement that another seven terrorist cells that fired mortars against their troops were attacked and eliminated.
On Monday, the army ordered the evacuation of the eastern part of Khan Younis and sent the people to the al-Mawasi “safe zone” on the coast.
The area had been attacked on several occasions earlier.
On the last occasion, Israeli troops left the southern city of Khan Younis in April claiming they had achieved all their military objectives.
Now, they have justified their return underlining that the Hamas extremist group fires shells from the area.
Since then, more than 129 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in the latest Israeli operation, which has also left more than 400 wounded and forced more than 150,000 people to relocate to the increasingly narrow al-Mawasi humanitarian zone.
In nearly ten months of the war so far, Israeli land, sea and air attacks on the Gaza Strip have left more than 39,000 dead, mostly women and children, over 90,000 wounded, and thousands missing remain under the rubble.
Casualties among Israeli army ranks also continue to rise to 328, with the latest death of a 37-year-old soldier reported early Friday in fighting in the southeastern Gaza Strip, according to a military statement. EFE
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