The IDF says it has expanded its ground offensive to new areas south of Gaza City,

The IDF says it has expanded its ground offensive to new areas south of Gaza City, where the 99th Division is currently battling Hamas operatives and locating the terror group's infrastructure.

In a statement, the IDF says the 99th Division has killed “many” Hamas gunmen, destroyed more than 100 tunnel shafts, located several weapons caches, and directed dozens of airstrikes on the terror group’s sites and operatives in central Gaza, just south of Gaza City.

The IDF says the troops are establishing “operational control” over the area, “allowing the offensive to be expanded to additional locations and prevent the enemy from returning to its positions.”

The division’s 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade located a cache of weapons in a daycare center, according to the IDF.

The IDF says the division’s 179th Reserve Armored Brigade meanwhile spotted a group of Hamas gunmen in a building, and following intelligence that the area surrounding the building was booby-trapped, it was decided to shell the structure.

In a video published by the IDF, secondary explosions are seen, which it says “indicates that it was booby-trapped and used by the Hamas terror organization for an operational purpose.”