IDF hits Hamas hard on multiple fronts for second straight day

If Saturday through Monday saw light fighting in northern and southern Gaza, Tuesday and Wednesday saw the IDF killing likely over a hundred, if not more, Hamas terrorists both in Jabalya and Rafah, with some lighter fighting also in Zeitoun.

Both on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, the IDF said Division 98 had killed several dozen Hamas fighters in Jabalya in northern Gaza, as well as some increasing intensity from Division 162 in Rafah in southern Gaza. 

Division 99 is handling the smaller "clean-up" operations in Zeitoun in north-central Gaza.

In one of the battles in Jabalia, the Israeli air force killed the Hamas cell, which fired rockets on Sderot on Tuesday.

IDF issues vague statement

The IDF's description of progress in eastern Rafah was more vague, likely due to the extreme sensitivities of all activities in that area to relations with the US and Egypt, both of which have been highly critical and issued significant threats about ongoing Israeli military activity there.

A statement mentioned destroying various terror assets, including Hamas training areas in eastern Rafah.

In addition, the IDF said that the air force more broadly struck around 80 terror assets, such as rocket launchers, weapons storage areas, lookout points, and command centers.

Next, the IDF seemed to suggest that the operation in Zeitoun was already winding down, noting that the Nahal Brigade was leaving the area and that only Brigade 2 would continue fighting there for the time being.

The IDF had declared Jablya and northern Gaza under its operational control in January, but already in a mid-March ad, to return to reinvade Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and on Saturday, had started to evacuate 100,000-150,000 Palestinian civilians from Jabalia to facilitate a reinvasion there to prevent Hamas from reconstituting its forces.