The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that it struck four commanders and additional terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad across the Gaza Strip, in response to a ceasefire violation the previous day in which terrorists were identified exiting tunnels in eastern Rafah.
The military said it also struck a Hamas weapons storage facility, an arms manufacturing plant and two launch sites in central Gaza.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip systematically violate international law, brutally exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the IDF said.
The military added that Jerusalem views any violation of the agreement with “utmost seriousness” and will continue to act against any attempt to carry out terrorist attacks against IDF troops and civilians of the State of Israel.
IDF soldiers overnight Thursday identified eight terrorists emerging from underground infrastructure in Rafah, southern Gaza, prompting an airstrike that killed at least three of them, the military said on Friday.
The Israeli Air Force carried out additional strikes against areas where the remaining terrorists attempted to flee, the IDF added.
Forces operating under Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and will continue acting to remove any immediate danger to Israeli troops, the military said. The ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, remains in place despite ongoing security incidents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the military remains focused on completing two core missions: disarming Hamas and dismantling terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.
“I hear even now the statements that we will allow the reconstruction of Gaza before demilitarization. That will not happen,” Netanyahu said.
Speaking to lawmakers at the Knesset, Netanyahu said Hamas disarmament “will happen—as our friend Donald Trump said—the easy way or the hard way, but it will happen.”
Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk, however, told Al Jazeera this week that the group never agreed to disarmament as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework.
“Not for a single moment did we talk about surrendering weapons,” Abu Marzouk said, claiming the issue was never raised in negotiations.
A U.S. official told JNS that Hamas demilitarization remains central to long-term stability in Gaza and is a key component of the ceasefire framework.
The official said that the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is intended to provide an alternative governing structure focused on rebuilding civilian life and stabilizing the territory.
Abu Marzouk also claimed Hamas influenced the composition of the technocratic committee’s membership, telling Al Jazeera that no one could enter Gaza without an understanding with the group.
The competing claims come as Israeli forces continue operations aimed at preventing renewed terrorist attacks while maintaining positions consistent with the current ceasefire framework.
