Israeli forces killed “dozens” of militants in overnight clashes in Gaza, the military said Monday as it presses its hardline response to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The Palestinian militant group also reported “heavy fighting” in northern Gaza on the third night of Israel’s expanded ground raids into the war-torn territory with tanks and troops.

The army said “troops killed dozens of terrorists who barricaded themselves in buildings and tunnels and attempted to attack the troops”.

In one incident, a fighter jet targeted a building “with over 20 Hamas terrorist operatives inside,” the military said. In another, a fighter jet was guided to an anti-tank missile launching post in the area of Al-Azhar University.

Al-Azhar is in the heart of Gaza City which has been the focus of Israel’s attacks since the start of its campaign after the Hamas attacks which it says left 1,400 dead, mostly civilians.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 8,000 people, mainly civilians, have since been killed in Israeli air and ground strikes.

The army said it has struck “over 600 terror targets, including weapons depots, dozens of anti-tank missile launching positions, as well as hideouts and staging grounds used by the Hamas terrorist organisation” in recent days.