Early this morning, the Israeli military launched a series of intense airstrikes, coupled with demolitions, artillery shelling, and heavy gunfire, targeting areas east of what is known as the “Yellow Line” in the Gaza Strip. The activity was concentrated in multiple locations across the region.
In Rafah, located in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes conducted successive airstrikes north and east of the city. Local sources also reported that Israeli tanks fired heavy machine gun fire toward civilian homes.
The Israeli military stated in a statement released Friday evening that its forces have been “working for weeks to destroy the remaining tunnels in Rafah and eliminate militants inside.” This statement followed an announcement that its forces had eliminated six militants who emerged from a tunnel east of Rafah, inside the Yellow Line, and arrested five others, according to the Israeli army.
In Khan Yunis, south of Gaza City, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes east of the city. Israeli tanks also shelled the vicinity of the city with numerous shells. Local sources reported hearing heavy gunfire from Israeli vehicles in the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of the city.
In the central Gaza Strip, areas east of Deir al-Balah were subjected to intense Israeli artillery shelling behind the Yellow Line, amidst heavy warplane activity in the area’s airspace.
Within Gaza City itself, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of intense airstrikes, coinciding with heavy artillery shelling east of the al-Tuffah neighborhood and gunfire from tanks stationed behind the Yellow Line. The Israeli military also conducted demolition operations in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood, east of the city.
According to reports, dozens of Palestinian families evacuated from the al-Tuffah and Shuja’iyya neighborhoods on Friday after Israeli vehicles and armored personnel carriers advanced approximately 300 meters into the areas, expanding what is known as the Yellow Zone by pushing concrete blocks westward.
