TEL AVIV, Oct 25, 2023 (BSS /TASS) - The Israeli military destroyed a tunnel in the Gaza Strip through which a group of radicals affiliated with Hamas infiltrated the country, the army press service reported.

"IDF [the Israel Defense Forces] fighter jets and naval soldiers struck the tunnel and weapons warehouse used by the terrorists in the Gaza Strip. There is no immediate risk of an additional infiltration at the moment," the statement said.

On the evening of October 24, the Israeli Navy struck a group of divers from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement attempting to infiltrate the country by sea near Kibbutz Zikim. "Israeli Navy, IAF [the Israeli Air Force] and ground soldiers struck the terrorists and thwarted their infiltration attempt," the press service added.

Earlier in the day, the army press service reported a strike on a Gaza military compound that was a launching pad for radicals into Israel.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City.

 In response, Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank of the Jordan River as well.