A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on March 11, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

JERUSALEM/GAZA - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Monday that they had struck a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas' deputy military leader Marwan Issa was believed to be staying.

IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a briefing that intelligence indicated Issa and Razi Abu Tama'ah, another senior militant, were staying at "an underground compound" in the refugee camp of Al-Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip during an Israeli airstrike overnight.

He added that there was no confirmation of Issa's death, and the IDF was still probing the results of the attack, in response to media reports earlier in the day claiming that Issa had been killed.

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According to Israel's state-owned Kan TV, five militants were killed in the attack, and ten others were injured. 

Also on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the Israeli army was responsible for the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chairman of the political bureau of Hamas, in a controversial cross-border airstrike in Lebanon in January

Issa is the deputy commander of Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. He is believed to be the right-hand man to Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Hagari warned that Israel would continue to pursue Hamas officials involved in the deadly attack on southern Israel in October last year. 

Also on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the Israeli army was responsible for the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chairman of the political bureau of Hamas, in a controversial cross-border airstrike in Lebanon in January.

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Arouri's death prompted wide criticism from Lebanon and regional countries but Israel has never officially acknowledged the assassination.

"We have killed number four in Hamas," the Israeli prime minister said in a video statement, apparently referring to Arouri.

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in this undated handout picture released on March 10, 2024. (PHOTO / ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES VIA REUTERS)

"Three, two, and one are on the way (to be killed). They are all dead men, we will reach them all," Netanyahu said.

He also reiterated his stance that Israel will continue the attacks in Gaza until "a total victory" over Hamas.

100 rockets fired at northern Israel

Around 100 rockets were fired by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon towards northern Israel on Tuesday morning, following Israeli airstrikes deep into Lebanon, Israeli sources said.

The IDF said in a statement that the airstrikes targeted two sites belonging to Hezbollah's aerial forces in retaliation for recent Hezbollah aircraft attacks launched towards the Golan Heights

According to the IDF, the rockets were fired at the Upper Galilee area and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The country's aerial defense systems intercepted some of the rockets.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

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The IDF confirmed in a statement that in response, its fighter jets struck three launchers used to fire rockets earlier in the morning.

The salvos came in response to Israeli airstrikes in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, approximately 45 km east of Beirut. The IDF said in a statement that the airstrikes targeted two sites belonging to Hezbollah's aerial forces in retaliation for recent Hezbollah aircraft attacks launched towards the Golan Heights.

The Beqaa Valley, some 100 km from the Israel border, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold.  

56 Palestinians released

Israel released 56 Palestinians on Monday who were detained during the recent ground operation in Gaza, according to the General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza.

The Palestinians were released through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, the Authority said in a press statement.

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The statement claimed that traces of torture were observed on the bodies of the released individuals.

Local sources and Palestinian human rights organizations reported that the Israeli army had arrested dozens of Palestinians during the operation and transferred them to undisclosed locations.