Israel Defense Forces carrying out fresh airstrikes in Gaza

As per the IDF, it is hitting targets belonging to the Hamas terror group along Gaza's coastline.

Further details will be provided soon, the IDF added.

This comes in response to the terrorist group Hamas launching a rocket attack at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon in Israel on Tuesday.

As the barrage of rockets pounded the coastal city, sirens sounded in the city and other nearby towns.

The terrorist organisation had earlier issued a warning that it would attack Ashkelon at 5 o'clock in retaliation for Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The spokesperson for Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, had threatened Israel's coastal city of Ashkelon with a major rocket barrage in the coming hours, The Times of Israel reported.

The Hamas leader has also asked the residents to leave their homes in order to not fall victim to the attacks.

"In response to the enemy's crime of displacing our people and forcing them to flee their homes in several areas of the Gaza Strip, we give the residents of the occupied city of Ashkelon a deadline to leave before 5 pm," Abu Obeida said on his Telegram channel, according to The Times of Israel.

Over 770 Palestinians have been killed in air raids after Israel launched a strong retaliation after the 'surprise attack' by Hamas, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in a major development in the ongoing Israeli counter-offensive against the deadly attack by Hamas, two big leaders of the terror group were eliminated by the Israeli Air Force on Tuesday.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said in a statement that the Minister of Economy of Hamas, Jawad Abu Shamala, has been killed.

"As part of his role, he (Shamala) managed the funds in the organization and earmarked the funds for financing and directing terrorism inside and outside the Gaza Strip. He previously held security positions in the terrorist organization and as part of his role led several operations aimed at harming civilians in the State of Israel," the Air Force said in a statement on X.

In another major elimination, Zakaria Abu Ma'amer, one of the senior members of the Political Bureau of Hamas was also eliminated by the Israeli Air Force. He was also the head of the Ministry of National Relations in the policy bureau of Hamas in Gaza,

"In his position, he was responsible for making decisions in Gaza, operating internal relations and coordinating between the organizations in Gaza...Abu Ma'amr was known to be a close associate of Yahya Sinwar and as part of his position, he did a lot of work to incite and act against the sovereignty of the State of Israel and endanger its residents.

In addition, as part of his role, he belonged to the organization's senior forum and thus was involved in the organization's decision-making and planning many outlines and actions against the security of the State of Israel," the Israeli Air Force said.

At least 900 Israelis were killed and over 2,616 people injured after Hamas launched a barbaric 'surprise attack' on Israel on October 7. (ANI)