A day after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed that fighting in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis would intensify, fierce battles were waged Monday as the IDF launched a new large offensive on the western party of the city, in which at least three IDF officers were killed, writes The Times of Israel.

Four brigades, led by the 98th Division, took part in the offensive, which began Sunday with a series of airstrikes on Hamas sites in the area. The IDF is aiming to dismantle Hamas’s military framework in the Khan Younis area with the new push. A spokesman for the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry told Reuters that at least 50 Palestinians were killed and 100 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis since Sunday night.

The IDF said Monday evening that some 50 Hamas operatives, including several commanders, had been killed throughout the day by ground troops of the Commando, Paratroopers, Givati and 7th brigades. Three officers in the Paratroopers Brigade were killed and another seriously wounded in the offensive, the military announced separately. They were killed by an RPG fired at a building they were in, military sources said.

The Gaza health ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qidra, claimed in a statement to Reuters that IDF troops had stormed Al-Khair Hospital and were arresting medical staff. The IDF did not immediately respond to the claim. It has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating within hospitals and shown evidence that it used medical facilities to hide Israeli hostages.

According to media reports, Hamas’s leaders in Gaza are believed to be hiding in tunnels in Khan Younis, likely surrounded by hostages.