IDF Arabic spokesperson warns civilians in the north of Strip to evacuate fighting zones as army launches operations in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

On Tuesday, the 200th day of the war, the Israel Defense Forces increased their operations against Hamas terrorists throughout the Gaza Strip.

Residents said that Israeli attacks intensified, with some of the most intense shelling they had seen in recent weeks. This was especially true in the north where the Israeli army previously drew down its troops.

Residents in the central and southern regions reported air strikes and tanks shelling on the ground, as well as what they described to be almost non-stop bombardment.

The IDF announced on Tuesday that overnight it had attacked Hamas rocket launchers in southern Gaza Strip. The IDF said that the strike was conducted following new intelligence received in the last few days. This allowed the rocket launchers be destroyed before being used.

The military also reported that an airstrike had been carried out on several terrorists who were hiding near a shelter for civilians in Bureij (central Gaza).

According to the army, dozens of airstrikes have been carried out in Gaza over the last day. They targeted buildings used by terrorist groups, observation points, rocket launchers, other infrastructure, and operatives.

In a social media post, Avichay Adraee, IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, urged the residents of four areas in Beit Lahiya, a northern Gaza town, to seek shelter in two designated locations near the city.

Adraee warned that “you are in a danger combat zone” and added that the IDF will operate against the “terror infrastructure” in the area.

Operation Beit Lahiya follows recent rocket attacks on Israeli border towns from the region. Palestinians reported that an air strike killed a boy, injured several others and hit a nearby mosque. A medic was also killed by shelling in the vicinity of the town’s stadium.

The IDF said that it also launched a new pinpoint operations in Beit Hanoun, a northern Gazan neighborhood just before Passover started on Monday.

Forces operating under the Gaza Division Northern Brigade carried out the raid.

During the operation, Sgt. First Class (res. ) Salm Alkreshat was killed. He was a tracker for the Northern Brigade of Gaza Division.

Alkreshat was 43 and a Bedouin from Abu Rabia. The IDF’s offensive against Hamas on the ground has now claimed 261 lives.

The IDF reported that the Iron Dome system had intercepted all four projectiles fired by Gaza on Tuesday morning.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the Sderot rocket attack.

Two more rockets were launched at Zikim, a border town. The military reported that one rocket was intercepted and the other failed to cross over the border.

The attacks did not cause any injuries or damages.

Israel has resumed its bombing and shelling of Gaza’s northern areas, almost four months after it announced that it would be reducing its forces in the region. It claimed to have dismantled Hamas’s “military structure” there.

The Israeli army also announced on Tuesday that troops from the Nahal Brigade had launched a new targeted operation against Hamas along the central Gaza Strip Corridor. According to the military, this operation will continue during Passover.

The IDF stated that the “surprise” operation, which began on Sunday night, was meant to “deepen the achievements” along the Netzarim Corridor.

The IDF can now conduct raids on the northern and central Gaza Strip while Israel controls the access of Palestinians who fled south to the north.

The IDF released a statement saying that “the forces are conducting targeted raids in the area and are thwarting the terror.”

According to the IDF, Nahal troops saw several gunmen during the raid and ordered fighter jets to launch airstrikes against them as well as the buildings where they were operating. The IDF added that secondary explosions observed after the strikes indicated the buildings were being used for munitions storage.

Israel is planning an offensive against Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah. The fighting continued in Gaza’s center and north. The Wall Street Journal reported that the IDF was preparing to evacuate Palestinian civilians in Rafah where over a million people are sheltering.

Israel said Rafah is one of Hamas’s last major strongholds on the Strip, as it hosts four of its six battalions. The IDF has conducted operations in the north, center, and south. Rafah is believed to be the location of many of those 129 hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.

In a television statement to mark the 200th day of the war, Hudhaifa KAHLOUT — also known as Abu Obeida, the Hamas military wing’s spokesman — called for a rapid escalation on all fronts.

On October 7, 3,000 terrorists crossed the border into Israel in an unprecedented Hamas attack. The result was the death of 1,200 civilians and the kidnapping of 253.

According to Hamas’ Gaza Health Ministry, the Israeli offensive that followed has killed more than 33,000 people. This number cannot be independently verified, and it includes the 13,000 terrorists Israel claims to have killed since the start of the war.