Tel Aviv/Gaza, 12 October 2023 (dpa) - The Israeli military has continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in response to coordinated attacks by the Islamist group Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Telegram on Thursday that a large-scale attack was currently underway against Hamas-affiliated targets in the Gaza Strip.

Israel was stunned by a large-scale attack by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and has retaliated with massive airstrikes on the territory. More than 1,000 have died on each side, with the majority of those killed civilians.

Israel has massed some 300,000 reserve troops and armoured vehicles on the border with the Gaza Strip.

A ground offensive would be launched on Gaza "when opportune and fit for our purposes," IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said in a daily briefing broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He added that he hoped Thursday would be quieter as "we have a long and very, very dangerous road ahead of us."

The Israeli military's goal was to reach Hamas in its network of tunnels and bunkers underneath the densely populated Gaza Strip, Conricus said.

Photo: MIA archive