The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it had expanded its ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza over the past day, as attacks across the Strip were said to kill some 27 Palestinians, including three near a US- and Israel-backed aid distribution site in Rafah.

“In the past day, troops expanded the ground maneuver, eliminated terrorists and destroyed many weapons depots and terror infrastructure sites, above and below ground,” the IDF said. The statement added that the air force hit dozens of targets, including cells of terror operatives, buildings used by terror groups, tunnels, weapons depots, and other infrastructure.

The announcement came after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed the army on Sunday to begin operating in new areas in Gaza. The military has said it seeks to seize 75% of the Strip in the renewed offensive launched last month.

Palestinian media reported overnight that Israeli ground forces were approaching southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. IDF troops were said to demolish the rear wall of the city’s European Hospital after advancing toward the hospital over the past day. The military, in response to a query by The Times of Israel, denied that troops were operating within the European Hospital compound.

A May 13 airstrike targeted a Hamas tunnel system that ran underneath the hospital, killing the terror group’s leader in Gaza, Muhammad Sinwar, and two other senior commanders in its military wing. The IDF confirmed Saturday that Sinwar was killed in the strike, which killed at least 28 people, according to Hamas’s civil defense agency. Hamas’s figures cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Sinwar had taken over from his slain brother Yahya, who masterminded the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage, sparking the war in Gaza. Israel killed Yahya Sinwar in October 2024.

Israel has accused Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields and of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques. The IDF says it takes steps to mitigate civilian harm, including by use of evacuation warnings, precision munitions, aerial........

© The Times of Israel