Israeli military again conducts 'targeted raids' inside Gaza Strip

Jerusalem: For a second straight night, Israeli troops conducted "targeted raids" inside the Gaza Strip before withdrawing from the Hamas-controlled enclave, the military said in a statement on Friday.

A video published by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed tanks and armoured vehicles moving on a road near agricultural land as well as strikes on buildings and open areas, reports CNN.

The raid, which included aircraft and artillery strikes in the Shaja'iyah neighborhood, targeted Hamas infrastructure including "anti-tank missile launch sites, military command and control centers, as well as Hamas terrorists", the IDF said.

“The troops exited the area at the end of the activity,” the statement said.

On Thursday, the IDF had said that it carried out a "targeted raid" in the northern Gaza Strip as "part of preparations for the next stages of combat", in which the Jewish nation is planning a ground offensive in Gaza, reports Xinhua news agency.

During the raid, soldiers located and struck "numerous" militants, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts and "operated to prepare the battlefield", it added.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, in response to its October 7 deadly terror attacks and kidnap rampage in which 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed and more than 220 taken hostage.

In a televised address on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli is "preparing for a ground incursion," into Gaza following nearly three weeks of airstrikes on the coastal strip.