Israeli tanks reentered previously vacated areas of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to reports from Gaza residents.
Reports in Palestinian media said tanks entered the Beit Hanoun and Jabalia neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation follows a recent call-up of 2 reserve brigades to prepare for reentry into Gaza.
One Gaza resident told Reuters that Israeli soldiers “ordered all families inside the schools and the nearby houses where the tanks had advanced to evacuate” from the area.
The IDF announced on Saturday that it was conducting a “precise” operation in Beit Hanoun but has not provided regular updates on the situation there. Following the IDF withdrawal from Khan Younis, there have been several reports of evacuees attempting to return to the northern Gaza Strip, despite Israel telling the residents to remain in the South.
Israel says the area is still the site of intermittent combat, and it cannot guarantee the safety of residents there. The IDF announced Wednesday morning that its forces continue operations in the central Gaza Strip against Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure.
It said that IAF planes conducted airstrikes against terrorists and terror infrastructure, hitting more than 40 targets over the past day, including “underground launching posts, booby-trapped structures, military structures where armed terrorists operated, observation posts, underground terrorist infrastructure, and additional terrorist infrastructure.”
Residents in Nuseirat said Israeli planes had bombed and destroyed four multi-story residential buildings in strikes on Tuesday.
Israel Air Force planes also targeted several sites in Rafah, reportedly killing and wounding several people.
Palestinian health officials claimed that four people were killed and several more wounded in an IAF strike in Rafah overnight.
Israel is believed to be preparing to enter Rafah soon, the last Hamas stronghold in the Strip. Israel and the U.N. continue to trade accusations regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.