IDF strikes more than 100 terror targets in Gaza, and Hamas targets in high-rise quarter of central Gaza used to fire anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

There will “undoubtedly” be a response to the Jan. 2 targeted killing of Hamas deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Hassan Nasrallah threatened on Friday.

The Hezbollah terror chief said his terror organization could not remain silent in response to the “major and dangerous violation,” per the Lebanon-based website Naharnet.

“The battlefield will respond and this response will undoubtedly come,” Nasrallah said. “We cannot remain silent over such a dangerous violation, because this would mean that entire Lebanon and its cities and personalities would be exposed.”

The leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization claimed that there is an opportunity for Lebanon to “liberate what’s left of its land” in disputed border points with Israel. “Any talks” will take place after the Gaza war, he said.

Israeli aerial, ground and naval forces struck more than 100 terror targets in the Gaza Strip, eliminating operational command centers, military sites, rocket launch pads and compounds where terrorist infrastructure and weapons were stored in the past day, per the Israel Defense Forces.

In the Bureij camp in central Gaza, an IDF drone and ground troops monitored and pursued an armed terrorist cell that sought to attack an Israeli tank. After Israel identified the compound where the terrorists fled, an Israeli Air Force fighter jet struck it, eliminating the terrorists.

In Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, the IDF located and struck launch pads used for firing rockets at Israeli territory. IDF units engaged multiple times with terrorists in the area and killed several operatives, according to the military.

The IDF announced this week that its units completed an operation in the high-rise district of central Gaza, from which terrorists fired anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. The elite Yahalom Special Engineering Unit and the 646 Brigade led the operation.

“Loaded rocket-launchers, buildings rigged with explosives, tunnel shafts and numerous explosives were found in the area,” the IDF stated. “During combat in the area, forces eliminated terrorists and located and destroyed many shafts.”

Forces recovered sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, AK-47 assault rifles, pistols and rifles, and located a chemical laboratory for weapon production. Engineering forces and the Air Force destroyed buildings rigged with explosives, observation posts and underground tunnel shafts, the military said.

North of Israel, IAF fighter jets struck targets in the areas of Ayta ash Shab and Majdal Zun in Lebanon. Hezbollah terror infrastructure, a military post and a site from which Hezbollah terrorist operatives operated were among its targets.

On Thursday, the IDF Southern Command held a forum led by the Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman for learning operational lessons for its reserve commanders.

Brigade and battalion commanders shared insights from the war and outlined plans for the future. The commanders also discussed the importance of maintaining the reserve forces’ unity and resilience over an extended period of time.