ISRAELI troops have captured a crucial Hamas stronghold in Gaza after a bloody ten-hour gunfight with terrorists.
The IDF said its soldiers killed dozens of Hamas militants as they seized what is known as Outpost 17 in the city of Jabalia.
Israel's fighters battled with Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives who were both "above ground and in an underground route in the area".
Footage released by the IDF shows soldiers armed with guns storming the base before steaming in with a bulldozer to clear mines and explosives.
After taking over the stronghold, many weapons and tunnel openings were discovered – including one next to a kindergarten.
The IDF claims to have so far destroyed at least 130 tunnel entrances since the war erupted just over a month ago.
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Hamas has a mysterious 311-mile maze of tunnels riddled with traps that sprawl underground in Gaza.
Hidden up to 100ft below the surface, the entrances are enclosed under the floors of homes, mosques and schools – allowing fighters to move unseen between homes and alleyways within Gaza.
It is used by the warped group to transport people and goods as well as store rocks and ammunition.
Hamas' command and control centres are also housed in the intricate system away from Israel's watch.
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And it's understood the entire network is heavily laden with booby traps and homemade bombs.
It comes as strikes continue to ring out constantly in Gaza as Israeli troops close in
The IDF has not given specifics on troop movements as it presses its ground assault, vowing to crush Hamas after its deadly October 7 assault inside Israel.
But Palestinian residents said Israeli forces had moved into inner neighbourhoods of Gaza City amid intense bombardment all around the surrounding north.
Clashes took place within 1km of the territory's largest hospital, Shifa, which has become a focal point in the war.
The Israeli military says the terror group's main command centre is located in and under the hospital complex and that senior leaders of the group are hiding there, using the facility as a shield.
Hamas and hospital staff deny the claim and say the military is making a pretext to strike it.
According to the IDF, Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza after claiming to have divided the enclave" in two.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: "We saw 50,000 Gazans move from the northern Gaza Strip to the south.
"They are moving because they understand that Hamas has lost control in the north.
"Hamas has lost control and is continuing to lose control in the north."
A month of relentless bombardment in Gaza since the Hamas massacre has killed more than 10,500 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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More than 2,300 others are believed to have been buried by strikes that in some cases have demolished entire city blocks.
More than 1,400 people have died in Israel since the start of the war, most of them civilians killed by Hamas militants during their incursion.
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