Jerusalem, 22 January, 2024 (TPS) — The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Monday evening it expanding its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

The IDF said it launched a combined attack of four brigades on the west of Khan Yunis, encircling and maneuvering within the Khan Yunis refugee camp. The goal is to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities in the area.

The military said 50 terrorists were eliminated in air strikes since this morning including a Hamas company commander planning attacks on Israeli forces, the IDF said.

“West Khan Yunis is a sensitive area, which has many humanitarian shelters, hospitals and other sensitive sites. The IDF is preparing for ‘legitimacy traps’ that Hamas will try to carry out,” the announcement added.

Khan Yunis is Gaza’s second largest city and is regarded as a personal stronghold of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whose family lives there. On Thursday, Israeli forces raided a compound belonging to the Southern Battalion of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade in the IDF’s southernmost activity so far.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. The number of men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 136. Other people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.