Jerusalem, Nov 19 (IANS): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it has expanded the offensive against Hamas in the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza Strip.

The IDF said on Saturday that the attacks were carried out in the Zeitoun district in southern Gaza City and the city of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip to hit Hamas and its infrastructures.

It claimed that a Hamas brigade command and control centre is located in Jabalia, with four Hamas battalions, while a major battalion operates in Zeitoun, Xinhua news agency reported.

The IDF also revealed the identities of six Israeli soldiers who were killed in Gaza battles over the past few days, bringing to 56 its death toll since launching the ground incursion into Gaza.

Israeli troops have been carrying out attacks on Gaza over the past weeks to retaliate against the Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, during which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages.

The ongoing conflict has also killed more than 12,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's government media office.