Dozens of militants have been killed by Israeli forces in close combat in the Gaza Strip since Thursday, the Israeli army said on Friday.
The military destroyed what it called terrorist infrastructure during battles in the city of Khan Younis in the south of the coastal territory and in the area of Deir al-Balah further north.
Israel’s air force also fired on positions from which rockets were fired at Israel.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that several civilians had been killed as a result of Israeli attacks.
In northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, there were also renewed exchanges of fire between the army and the Islamist Hezbollah militia.
None of the information could be independently verified.
The war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, has displaced some 90% of the population of Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Some 2.2 million people live in the coastal strip. Many have been displaced multiple times, according to the UN.
Meanwhile, mediation efforts for a ceasefire are set to continue in Cairo. According to media reports, the main point of contention is Hamas’ demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects this.
UN representatives have called for a ceasefire at least to allow health workers to issue polio vaccinations for the hundreds of thousands of children in the war zone.
Charity Save the Children warned on Thursday that if left unchecked, the polio outbreak in Gaza would set back global eradication efforts.
