Will open Gaza evacuation route again despite Saturday attack: IDF

TEL AVIV: Despite coming under attack on Saturday in an attempt to open the road, Israel Defence Forces have said that they will try to reopen a corridor for Gazan civilians in the north of the Strip to escape south on Sunday, The Times of Israel reported.

Despite being attacked while attempting to restore the route on Saturday, Israeli officials said they would let Gazan civilians in the northern part of the Strip flee south on Sunday, according to IDF Arabic Spokesman Avichay Adraee.

Israel will allow southbound traffic on Salah-al-Din Street on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to Adraee's post on X. "For your safety, take advantage of the time to move south beyond Wadi Gaza," he said.

Though many have insisted on remaining in the enclave's north, citing humanitarian concerns and airstrikes occurring in the south as well, it is estimated that 800,000 people have moved south thus far, The Times of Israel reported.

In an effort to destroy the Hamas rulers of the Strip, who are firmly established in Gaza City, Israel has focused the majority of its air power and ground forces in the northern part of the Strip, encircling the city from three directions.

Amid the relentless onslaught on Hamas following the October 7 terror attacks, Israeli ground forces eliminated 15 terrorists and destroyed the outfit's infrastructure in Gaza, The Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday.

In the latest engagement between IDF personnel and Hamas terrorists amid the fierce fighting in Gaza, soldiers from the Armored Corps and Intelligence confronted 15 terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, according to the report. The soldiers successfully neutralised several terrorists and destroyed three Hamas observation posts, The Jerusalem Post stated.

Over the past few days, soldiers from the Armored Corps and Intelligence, under the command of Division 460, in the northern Gaza Strip have faced attempted strikes through tunnel systems and Hamas military facilities, the IDF informed on Saturday morning.

The IDF forces took decisive action to eliminate terrorists active in the area, exposed tunnel entrances used for terrorist purposes, and identified the organisation's means of warfare, The Jerusalem Post reported.

In a separate operation in the southern Gaza Strip, Engineering and Reconnaissance forces, under the command of the Gaza Division, executed a building mapping exercise and safely neutralised explosive devices.

During this operation, the forces encountered a group of terrorists emerging from a tunnel entrance, the report stated, adding that the soldiers, in response, launched missiles, effectively eliminating the threat.