Tel Aviv, Jan 8 (IANS): Heavy fighting continues in Khan Younis area of southern Gaza with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claiming to have attacked at least 30 Hamas targets, media reports said.

“The air strikes were significant. The destruction caused by the Air Force will help the ground invasion of the military,” the IDF, in a statement, said.

The IDF said that the attack led to the destruction of underground sites, weapons depots and other infrastructure belonging to Hamas.

Earlier, the media reports had also claimed that IDF and the Israel intelligence Shin Bet have located Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“The IDF has located the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar however the security agencies are unable to take him out as he has surrounded himself with Israeli hostages,” Times of Israel reported.

Sinwar is considered to be the alleged mastermind behind the October 7 attacks in which 1200 Israelis were killed while over 200 were taken hostage by Hamas.

Israel launched a ground offensive inside Gaza on October 27 after Hamas attacked Israel in a surprise attack on October 7.

Since the outbreak of hostilities, at least 22,835 Palestinians have been killed mostly being children and women while 57,000 Palestinians have been injured.