Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded the ground campaign into urban refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip, and are continuing to fight in Khan Yunis in the south.

"The IDF forces are fighting in the Gaza Strip in Khan Yunis, and we have expanded the fighting to the area called the 'central camps,'" IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said during a press briefing on Tuesday night.

"We are operating in Khan Yunis with new methods and with a different force composition in the face of the challenge, and the same is true in the central camps. We will continue to adapt the operation, the method and the composition of the forces according to the operational needs," he continued.

On Tuesday, forces from the IDF's 36th Division launched an attack on terror infrastructure in the al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, which the army described as an "established Hamas terror nest."

During the operation, Israeli forces located a tunnel shaft leading to a wide underground route and a Hamas training complex containing many weapons.

The ground offensive in the central camps comes about a month after an Israeli air strike killed Ayman Nofal, the commander of Hamas' Central Brigade.

With regard to Shejaia, Division 36 commander Brig. Gen. Dado Bar Khalifa said, "The fighting in Shejaia was difficult and complex and we managed to achieve significant achievements during it. Shejaia will no longer be a terror center for Hamas."

"The IDF is not stopping," he continued. "Division 36 is moving to its tasks in the center camps, the fight against terrorism in the camps will be a fundamental move. The battalions of the center camps are currently meeting the strength of the IDF. They will cease to function as other battalions have ceased to function. We are crippling Hamas in the center of the Gaza Strip as well. All in order to meet the goals we set for ourselves."

Republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate.