The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday killed a Palestinian terrorist who violated the ceasefire by crossing the Yellow Line in Gaza, the military said.
Troops operating in the northern Strip identified a terrorist who approached their position and posed an immediate threat, prompting them to respond, the IDF said.
The Yellow Line demarcates the Israeli military withdrawal under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire with the Hamas terrorist group that went into effect on Oct. 10. Israel controls about 53% of Gaza under Phase 1 of President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Israeli soldiers have in recent months been operating along the Yellow Line in northern Gaza to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, above and below ground, in the areas of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
Troops from the Northern Gaza “Gefen” Brigade, in coordination with the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom Unit, dismantled more than four kilometers of tunnels used by Hamas for attacks against the IDF, the military said on Thursday.
The troops also located about 10 mortar shells concealed inside a children’s blanket in a residence in the Beit Hanoun area. During the operation, they also killed dozens of terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and posed an immediate threat.
“IDF troops under the Southern Command continue to operate against the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in order to protect the security of the State of Israel,” the military said.
An Israeli delegation led by Coordinator for Hostages and Missing Persons Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch met with senior Egyptian officials and international mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss efforts to recover the body of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage being held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the mission, which included representatives from the Israeli military, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Mossad intelligence agency.
According to Israeli authorities, Gvili, 24, died of wounds suffered battling terrorists at the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim during the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The 20 last living hostages were freed on Oct. 13, and the bodies of deceased hostages have been returned sporadically since that date.
