The Israeli military on Thursday intensified operations against the terrorist stronghold of Khan Yunis, where Hamas leadership is believed to be hiding surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields. Israel stepped up the ground offensive two days after Hamas rejected a two-month ceasefire offer in exchange for hostages.

After weeks of fighting, the IDF has completed the encirclement of Khan Yunis and strengthened the control around the last remaining major Hamas bastion — infested with miles of terror tunnels and heavily-armed terrorist fighters.

“The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday stated deepening operational control over southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis. Troops report many clashes with terrorists in this particularly challenging terrain.” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Tuesday.



Footage shows IDF snipers taking out Hamas operatives in Khan Yunis

The IDF confirmed heavy fighting as it eliminates Hamas’s terrorist leadership and fighting force in and around Khan Yunis.

“IDF troops conducted targeted raids on terrorist sites in the Al Amal area in Khan Yunis. Employing precise sniper fire, they eliminated terrorists and dismantled their infrastructure and weapons in the area,” the military disclosed in a press release early Tuesday. “Additionally, IDF soldiers carried out a targeted raid on multiple military command centers. In close-quarters combat, the soldiers eliminated the terrorists, and various weapons were discovered in the process.”

The deeper the IDF goes, the more we learn about how Hamas turned all of Gaza into a base for its terror activities.

Schools, kindergartens, mosques, hospitals, and countless private homes have been used to conceal weapons caches and tunnels.

Staggering.pic.twitter.com/pDg8ctr5EO

— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) January 24, 2024

The military was deploying snipers to take out Hamas operatives in Khan Younis. “The IDF also releases footage showing snipers of the Paratroopers Brigade killing Hamas operatives in the Khan Younis area. It says the snipers have killed dozens of Hamas gunmen so far,” The Times of Israel reported.

IDF troops continue operating in Gaza:

📍Khan Yunis
IDF soldiers carried out operations inside multiple military command centers, eliminated terrorists and dismantled their infrastructure and weapons in the area.

Additionally, IAF aircraft struck 4 identified armed terrorists… pic.twitter.com/gbUR6rAc9g

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 25, 2024

IDF starts building “buffer zone” around Gaza to prevent future terror attacks

The IDF soldiers have begun the work on a “buffer zone” separating Israel from Gaza, a move aimed at preventing future October 7-style attacks on the Israeli civilian population. “Israeli military on Wednesday reported killing dozens of terrorists in Khan Yunis. Meanwhile, reports indicate that some of the troops are wo[r]king on establishing the buffer zone on the Gaza-Israel border,” the i24NEWS further reported.

Israel destroys Hezbollah’s Iranian-built airstrip meant to launch drone strikes

The Israeli air force on Thursday destroyed an Iranian-built airstrip meant to carry out drone strikes into Israel. The airstrip, located in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon, may have been used for recent drone incursions into northern Israel, news reports suggest.

Besides building terrorist infrastructure along Israel’s northern border, Iran has provided Hezbollah with advanced kamikaze drones and other attack UAVs, recent Israeli media reports suggest.

Confirming the airstrike, the IDF disclosed Thursday afternoon: “A short while ago, fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah military targets in the areas of Tyre and Mghayre in Lebanon. Among the targets struck were military compounds and sites used by Hezbollah’s Aerial Unit. Military airstrip and infrastructure used by the organization to direct terror attacks against Israeli civilians were located at one of the sites.”

Hezbollah has an arsenal of Iranian Shahed-136 drones, deployed in Ukraine by Russia. This ‘loitering munition’ can use signal from local cell towers to improve its aim, @Zachonearth reports to @i24NEWS_EN pic.twitter.com/YU5SQl1VW6

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) January 25, 2024

The Iranian drone airstrip was just a few miles away from the Israeli border. “The airfield is located close to Qalaa’t Jabbur and Meidoun, about 20 km (12 miles) north of the border with Israel. We have known Qalaa’t Jabbur for several years as a main Hezbollah training complex,” the Israeli think tank Alma Research and Education Center reported in September.

The Jerusalem Post reported the IDF air strike:

The IDF on Thursday attacked a key Hezbollah-Iran airstrip at Kilat Jaber for launching aerial attacks against Israel in a major escalation between the sides.

In September 2023, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed pictures showing the joint Hezbollah-Iranian terror base in southern Lebanon only 20 kilometers from the border with Israel.

Gallant said at the time that at the airport, one can see Iran’s flag flying on the runways from which the ayatollahs’ regime is using to plot against Israel.

The defense minister also said, “Put differently, the land is Lebanese, the control is Iranian, the target is Israel.”

He said Israel must “remain aware and at [the] ready, with our eyes set on the binoculars and our fingers on the trigger.”

Gallant added that Iran remains the greatest threat to Israel, though sometimes it uses Hezbollah and other proxies to fight its wars against the Jewish state.



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