Israeli forces conduct targeted strike in Gaza, citing terror threat

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a precision strike in the Gaza Strip to eliminate an imminent terrorist threat.

“A short while ago, the IDF conducted a precise strike in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip targeting a terrorist from the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization who planned to carry out an imminent terrorist attack against IDF troops,” Caliber.Az quotes the IDF as saying in a statement.

The statement added Israeli troops in the Southern Command are deployed in the area in compliance with the ceasefire agreement and “will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.”

The strike comes amid escalating tensions just two weeks into a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on October 10 following months of intense negotiations. Dubbed the first phase of a broader 20-point peace plan proposed by the Trump administration, the deal aimed to halt fighting, facilitate hostage releases, and ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza's war-torn population of over 2 million.

In the initial days, the truce enabled the release of around 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, alongside a surge in aid convoys—though far short of the agreed 600 trucks per day.

Brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump through envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with mediation from Qatar, Egypt, and the UAE, it builds on a 20-point "Trump Plan for Comprehensive End to Gaza War" unveiled in early October. This framework aims for a permanent end to hostilities, phased hostage-prisoner exchanges, Hamas disarmament, and Gaza reconstruction under a technocratic Palestinian governance body, potentially involving international oversight from the UN and Arab states. 

The deal was ratified by Israel's cabinet on October 9 and took effect at noon on October 10, halting active combat after over 68,000 Palestinian deaths (per Gaza health officials) and 1,139 Israeli fatalities from the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and subsequent war.

By Khagan Isayev