By Ahmed Asmar
ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army said late Saturday it killed an armed cell from the Hamas resistance movement after the group exited a tunnel in Gaza.
The Israeli army, however, did not specify the number killed or the location of the tunnel in Gaza.
The army statement, cited by the Times of Israel news website, added that it struck several sites for the Hamas group in different locations during the day, including areas in Jabalia, al-Furqan, Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip and the al-Zaytun area in Gaza City.
It also said dozens of mortar shell launchers in Gaza were destroyed.
While the Israeli army claims it targets military installations and sites of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, the Gaza-based Interior Ministry said all Israeli targets are civilian residential areas.
Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip one week ago in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began Oct. 7, when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel -- a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.
Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
That response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern strip to evacuate to the southern strip within 24 hours.
More than 3,500 people have been killed since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7, including 2,215 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis.