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Tel Aviv [Israel], May 12 (ANI/TPS): Israel military forces continued operating in eastern Rafah, as well as in the northern Gaza areas of Jabaliya and Zeitoun, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday.
Based on intelligence, troops continued precise operations in specific areas of eastern Rafah and on the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing. During the activity, soldiers located and dismantled several tunnel shafts and rocket launchers ready to fire toward Israeli territory. In addition, Israeli aircraft struck and killed 10 armed Hamas terrorists spotted exiting a terror facility. Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday. Israeli forces also seized a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone created to prevent weapons smuggling after Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2006. Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the PA in 2007. Israeli military vehicles have been seen patrolling the length of the 12 km border. The Egypt-Gaza border is politically sensitive, technically a demilitarized zone under the terms of the Camp David Accords signed in 1978. Hamas's control of the Rafah crossing allowed it to hijack humanitarian aid deliveries from Egypt. Meanwhile, ground forces are continuing to operate in the Zeitoun area of northern Gaza to eliminate terrorists and dismantle terror infrastructure. Over the past day, troops eliminated several terrorists in air strikes and in close-quarters combat. Meanwhile, in the northern Gaza area of Jabaliya, ground forces began a new operation after calling on civilians to temporarily evacuate the area. The operation was based on intelligence that Hamas was trying to rebuild its infrastructure and operatives in the area. Aircraft struck approximately 30 targets before ground forces entered the area. Moreover, over the past day, Israeli aircraft struck and dismantled over 150 Hamas targets throughout Gaza, eliminating terror squads, ready-to-fire rocket launchers, weapon storage facilities, observation posts, tunnel shafts, and other terror infrastructure. At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Around 30 of the remaining 132 hostages are believed dead. (ANI/TPS)
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