Israel Defence Forces

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to prepare a strategy for evacuating the population from Rafah, his office announced on Friday, ahead of a planned ground offensive in the area, CNN reports.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have announced a significant development in their ongoing conflict with Hamas, alleging direct financial support from Iran to the Palestinian militant group.

Since the initiation of the conflict in Gaza, Israeli security forces have successfully apprehended more than 2,650 wanted terrorists across Judea and Samaria, including the Jordan Valley areas. Approximately 1,300 of these individuals are linked to the Hamas terrorist organization.

The Israel Police, Shin Bet (Israel's anti-terror General Security Service) and the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) issued a joint statement reporting that Monday evening the Israeli security forces killed three terrorists in an operation to arrest a wanted man in the village of Ikhtaba in Samaria.

The United States said on Tuesday said that it had shot down twelve attack drones and five missiles, which it claimed were launched by the Iran-backed Houthis.

There was no damage to ships in the area or injuries reported, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

As many as 136 UN workers have lost their lives in the last 75 days in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas while several employees of the world body have been forced out of their homes, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterrres said. Guterres said that no one has ever seen such number of casualties of the UN staff in the history of the world organisation.

Israel Defence Forces have confirmed that they are carrying out precise, and targeted operation in a specific region in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

The operation is being carried out based on intelligence information and an operational necessity.

The ground troops of Israel Defence Forces struck over 450 Hamas targets on Sunday, taking control of a Hamas military compound in the Gaza Strip, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Underground terror tunnels, observation points, and training grounds for Hamas operatives were all located within the compound.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) tanks on Monday reached a strategic intersection on the main road in Gaza City, Israel-based i24 News reported.

The tanks were spotted on the Salah al Din thoroughfare which connects Gaza City in the north to Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said it was engaged in "heavy fighting" with Israeli troops on Sunday inside northern Gaza, where besieged residents were again told to flee.

After weeks of ferocious air strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared a new "stage" in what he warned will be a "long and difficult" war.