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On the night of 5-6 October, according to Israel’s Channel 7, Palestinian media reported the start of a ground offensive by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in the Jabaliya area, in the northern Gaza Strip. IDF representatives confirmed that warplanes, guided by intelligence, struck at terrorists of the Palestinian group Hamas, who had taken refuge in a “command and control complex”.

The compound, located in a building formerly used by UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), was used to plan and execute terrorist operations against the Israeli military. In its statement, the IDF stressed that measures were taken before the attacks to minimise harm to civilians, including through the use of precision weapons.

Later, it became known that the Israeli Air Force also attacked terrorists hiding in the abandoned Ibn Rashid school in the Deir al-Balah area. At the same time, strikes were carried out on another “command and control complex” located in the Shahda al-Aqsa mosque in the same region.

According to the Israeli military, Hamas systematically violates international law by using civilian institutions and the population as human shields. The IDF stressed the continuation of tough actions against terrorist organisations.

According to Palestinian sources, at least five militants were killed and 20 others were wounded in a strike on a mosque that had been turned into a terrorist headquarters. The situation remains tense and events continue to evolve.