The IDF says it is investigating after a drone strike it carried out last night in southern Gaza's Khan Younis reportedly killed nine children.

According to Palestinian media, the strike hit a home in Khan Younis, killing nine children of the same family, all under the age of 12. The father of the family and one of the children, 11, were seriously wounded. The mother Alaa Najjar, a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, was on duty at the time of the strike.

In response to the reports, the IDF confirms it carried out a strike in Khan Younis, saying it targeted several suspects identified at a building close to where ground troops were operating.

"The Khan Younis area is a dangerous combat zone which the IDF ordered civilians to evacuate for their safety before the start of the troops' operation," the military says, referring to its warning on Monday,

"The claims about harm to uninvolved [civilians] are being looked into," the IDF adds.

An IDF soldier was seriously wounded in an altercation with another soldier in the northern Gaza Strip last night, the military announces.

The Military Police has launched an investigation into the incident, the findings of which will be sent to the Military Advocate General for examination.

The soldier served with the Nahal Brigade's 931st Battalion. He was taken to a hospital and his family was notified.

A ballistic missile has been launched from Yemen at Israel, the military says.

Sirens are expected to sound in the Jerusalem area, southern West Bank settlements, and communities near the Dead Sea in the coming minutes.

The IDF says it is working to shoot down the projectile.

Sirens are sounding in the Jerusalem area, southern West Bank settlements, and communities near the Dead Sea following the launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen.

The IDF says it is working to shoot down the projectile.

A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses a short while ago, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in the Jerusalem area, southern West Bank settlements, and communities near the Dead Sea. Preceding the sirens by about five minutes, an early warning was issued to residents, alerting civilians of the long-range missile attack via a push notification on their phones.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 39 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

The soldier involved in last night's altercation with another troop in the northern Gaza Strip has been suspended from combat service, the military says.

He will remain suspended until the end of an investigation into the incident, during which another soldier was seriously wounded. Afterward, a decision will be made regarding his matter.

According to a preliminary probe, the soldier beat his comrade with a kettle, including hitting him over the head, at an encampment in north Gaza. The circumstances are under investigation.

The Military Police has also launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

During a visit to the Gaza Strip this morning, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the fighting is "not a forever war."

"We are intensifying our activity in accordance with the orderly plan. Hamas is under tremendous pressure; it has lost most of its assets and its command and control," Zamir says during a tour of Khan Younis with Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor.

"We will activate all of our tools so that we can return the hostages home, defeat Hamas, and dismantle its rule," he says.

"This is not an endless war," Zamir says, "we will act to shorten it per the fulfillment of its objectives."

"We seek to achieve a decisive victory, and we will do so with determination, thoroughness, and while ensuring the safety of our forces," he adds.

The IDF says it aims to occupy 75 percent of the Gaza Strip’s territory within two months as part of its new offensive against the Hamas terror group.

When the major ground offensive is launched, the Palestinian population will be pushed into three small zones in Gaza: a new “safer zone” in the Mawasi area on the southern Strip’s coast, where Israel previously declared a “humanitarian zone”; a strip of land in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat, where the IDF has not operated with ground forces; and the center of Gaza City, to which many Palestinians returned during the ceasefire earlier this year.

According to the IDF’s current estimates, some 700,000 Palestinians are residing in the Mawasi area, 300,000-350,000 are in central Gaza, and around one million are in Gaza City.

This means that Gaza’s 2 million population will be pushed into an area amounting to just 25% of the Strip when the IDF launches its expanded ground operation.

The IDF will then capture, clear of Hamas infrastructure, raze most buildings, and hold for the foreseeable future the rest of Gaza, including all of Rafah, Khan Younis, and the towns north of Gaza City.

According to the IDF’s plans, it should take just two months to capture 75% of Gaza from the moment the operation goes ahead. Currently, the military is in control of about 40% of the Strip’s territory.

Read more here: IDF aims to capture 75% of Gaza Strip in 2 months in new offensive against Hamas https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-aims-to-capture-75-of-gaza-strip-in-2-months-in-new-offensive-against-hamas/

Three rockets were launched from the southern Gaza Strip a short while ago, the military says.

The IDF says two of the projectiles fell short in Gaza, and the third was intercepted by air defenses before crossing the border.

Sirens did not sound in any border communities amid the attack.

The Israeli Air Force carried out over 200 strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past 48 hours, the military says.

The IDF says the targets included terror operatives, weapon depots, anti-tank and sniper positions, tunnel shafts, and other infrastructure.

In southern Gaza, the military says troops struck a building used by Hamas as a weapons depot, an observation post, and another structure used by the terror group. Troops also directed drone strikes on several operatives spotted in buildings near the forces, the IDF says.

In northern Gaza, the IDF says a strike carried out by a fighter jet destroyed a building where members of Hamas's Nukhba force were operating.

The IDF releases footage showing recent drone strikes on Hamas operatives during operations of the Givati Brigade in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Givati troops had spotted the operatives and called in the strike, the army says.

The IDF re-issues a wide evacuation warning for the entire Rafah and Khan Younis area in the southern Gaza Strip, ahead of a planned major ground offensive.

The military calls for Palestinians residing in areas marked on a map in red to evacuate west toward the Mawasi area on the coast, which Israel is set to declare as a "safer zone."

"The IDF will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terror organizations [in this area]," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, says.

He says that the evacuated area is considered "a dangerous combat zone." The evacuation warning does not include the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals, Adraee adds.

On March 31, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for all of Rafah and the southern part of Khan Younis, and on May 19, ordered the rest of Khan Younis to also evacuate.

The latest order covers the same areas previously ordered to evacuate.

Lebanese media reports an Israeli airstrike near the village of Brital in the northeastern Beqaa Valley.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The IDF's 36th Division is advancing in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, as part of a new offensive against Hamas, the military announces.

In a statement, the IDF says the division recently completed its operations in Rafah, and is now pushing into new areas in Khan Younis.

The division had established the so-called Morag Corridor between Rafah and Khan Younis in recent weeks.

In the past week, the IDF says the division's forces killed dozens of terror operatives and destroyed hundreds of infrastructures, including observation posts and tunnels.

The IDF says it eliminated a cell of terror operatives who launched several mortars at troops during operations in the northern Gaza Strip today.

According to the military, several mortars were fired at troops of the 401st Armored Brigade, without causing any injuries. After just one minute, the troops identified the cell behind the attack, which had withdrawn to a building.

The troops then called in an airstrike on the building, the IDF adds.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has decided to place the General Staff Corps, a top-level unit only activated in wartime, under the Ground Forces.

The corps is currently led by Maj. Gen. David Zini, who is being dismissed from the military after being appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to head the Shin Bet security agency.

The move means that after Zini leaves the army, no major generals will be appointed to the position of head of the General Staff Corps. Instead, the role will likely go to a brigadier general, as it will be subordinate to the Ground Forces, led by Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan.

The supposed role of the General Staff Corps in wartime is to operate troops on a tactical level while releasing the regional command to engage in planning and strategy.

In reality, the General Staff Corps is rarely used, and its commander, currently Zini, is simultaneously responsible for the IDF's Training Command.

A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses overnight, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in several northern West Bank settlements. Preceding the sirens by four minutes, an early warning was issued to residents, alerting civilians of the long-range missile attack via a push notification on their phones.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 40 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

Forces cleared major junction, stopped abduction of 12 workers in Mefalsim on Oct. 7

https://www.timesofisrael.com/forces-cleared-major-junction-stopped-abduction-of-12-workers-in-mefalsim-on-oct-7/