Raids In Gaza
The Israeli military has reported that they conducted “limited” ground raids into the Gaza Strip overnight as part of their efforts to combat Hamas fighters. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, stated that these raids were carried out by armored and infantry battalions and were intended to target locations where Hamas militants were assembling with the aim of launching attacks against Israel.
Hagari further explained that these incursions went “deep” into Gaza and involved tank and infantry forces. The primary objective was to eliminate groups of terrorists who were preparing for the next stage of conflict. Additionally, Israeli forces were searching for information related to the over 200 people who were taken hostage by Hamas operatives after infiltrating and attacking cities in southern Israel on October 7.
In response to these events, Israel has been conducting airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory for over two weeks and has also been mobilizing troops along the Gaza border in preparation for a potential ground offensive.
According to the Israeli military, more than 320 military targets in the Gaza Strip were struck in the past 24 hours, including tunnels housing Hamas terrorists, operational command centers, Islamic Jihad militants, military facilities, and observation posts.
Hamas, in its statement, claimed that they managed to destroy equipment used by the Israeli raiding party and forced them to withdraw. The situation has resulted in a significant displacement of the population, with more than half of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents now displaced. Israel has issued warnings to over one million residents in northern Gaza to move to safer areas in the south, but hundreds of thousands of civilians, mainly in and around Gaza City in the north, have remained, either unable or unwilling to leave.
