The IDF targeted a senior Hamas terrorist in a strike on a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City on Wednesday, multiple security sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The attack reportedly killed three; however, it is not clear yet if the target of the attack was killed.
The echoes of the attack were heard in the western Negev.
The military said that prior to the strikes, several terrorists opened fire at the area where IDF soldiers are operating in Khan Yunis. The IDF then struck Hamas terror targets across the Strip in response.
The IDF had killed several terrorists earlier who were identified crossing into IDF-controlled northern Gaza, who, according to the military, posed a threat to troops.
The terrorists were immediately killed after identification, according to the IDF.
In recent weeks, the IDF has reported multiple cases of terrorists approaching positions beyond the Yellow Line and being targeted.
The army has repeatedly emphasized that the ceasefire does not prevent action against imminent threats to soldiers or Israeli civilians.
Two terrorists were killed after entering an IDF-controlled area on Monday
The IDF killed several terrorists while crossing this boundary in two separate events on Monday, the military said in a statement.
One of the terrorists was seen “planting suspicious objects in the ground adjacent to troops,” and was subsequently struck. “The remaining terrorists fled from the scene to the area west of the Yellow Line,” the statement read.
Another terrorist attempted to approach IDF troops stationed near the Yellow Line and was killed as he “posed an immediate threat,” the military added.
Over 20 Gazans killed in IDF strike
At least 25 Palestinians were killed in four Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday in a part of Gaza under Hamas control since the ceasefire took effect in October, the Hamas Health said.
The IDF said its forces struck Hamas targets across Gaza after members of the terror group fired on its troops in violation of the nearly six-week-old ceasefire. No Israeli forces were injured.
A US official, who spoke anonymously, said Hamas was aiming to break the ceasefire and not fulfill its commitment to demilitarize.
"These desperate tactics will fail," the official said.
Medics declared 10 people were killed in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun, two in the Shejaia suburb to the east, and the rest in two separate attacks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.