The Israeli army announced today that it had again attacked a command headquarters of the radical Palestinian group "Hamas", hidden in a school building, reported DPA, quoted by BTA.
The Israeli Air Force "carried out a targeted strike on "Hamas" terrorists," said a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a post on their channel in the "Telegram" application.
It said that "terrorists" were planning an attack on Israeli territory, noting that the unit "was housed in a compound that was formerly the Jaffa School in Gaza City."
DPA makes the reservation that it cannot independently verify the IDF's information. The Israeli army has repeatedly stated that Hamas fighters are hiding in civilian infrastructure and using Palestinians as human shields in violation of international law, DPA points out.
The Israel Defense Forces explicitly state that they are taking measures to protect civilians.
The war in the Gaza Strip, which has been going on for more than a year, began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory. According to Israeli data, about 1,200 people were killed at that time, and nearly 250 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
According to information from the Hamas Health Ministry, the Palestinian victims of the Israeli retaliatory offensive in the enclave have already exceeded 44,800 people, DPA notes.
Israel was fired at with two rockets from the Gaza Strip, DPA reported, quoted by BTA, referring to a statement by the Israeli army. Meanwhile, Israeli police announced that their officers shot and killed a Palestinian during an operation to arrest a terrorist near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the agency also reported.
Air raid sirens were sounded in Israeli towns near the border with the Gaza Strip, with residents urged to take cover as quickly as possible, DPA explained in connection with the information about the rockets fired.
A statement from the Israeli army said that both rockets were intercepted. There was no information about material damage or casualties from falling debris, DPA specified.
The agency noted that the incident in which the Palestinian was killed in the West Bank was in Beit Awa, west of Hebron. Police were searching for a man who shot at an Israeli bus south of Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing a boy and wounding three others.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the man killed by Israeli police was a 32-year-old resident of Beit Awa.
A hostage and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could be reached "within a month," an unnamed senior Israeli official told Israel's Channel 12 television station on Friday.
Although no further information was shared, the unnamed Israeli official was quoted as saying that the possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement with Hamas within a month "does not seem unreasonable." The talks are ongoing and progressing daily, the Channel 12 source also revealed.
On Thursday, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who signaled, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, that Israel is ready to immediately implement the Gaza ceasefire plan if the "Hamas" group agreed to approve the deal.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also said earlier today that Washington has seen "encouraging signs" in the past few weeks that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is possible.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Blinken revealed that the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages had been discussed during his visit to Ankara.
In discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fidan, "we talked about the imperative for "Hamas" to say "yes" to a possible agreement to help finally end this," Blinken noted, adding that the US values the role Turkey can play in reaching an agreement.