WATCH: IDF begins ground invasion of Gaza City
The IDF announced the launch of its ground offensive on Gaza City, with fighter jets striking hundreds of targets, tanks bombarding Hamas positions, and ground forces beginning targeted raids.
The IDF announced the launch of its ground offensive on Gaza City, with fighter jets striking hundreds of targets, tanks bombarding Hamas positions, and ground forces beginning targeted raids.
Defrin emphasized that while Israel is opening corridors such as the Rashid route to allow civilians safe passage, Hamas is obstructing them.
Five divisions are expected to take part in the push to deliver a decisive blow against the terrorists.
The eliminated terrorists held key positions within the organization, representing a significant blow to its command structure and operational capabilities.
Over the past weeks, IDF and Shin Bet forces have carried out coordinated operations in Beit Hanoun, striking tunnels and underground routes to eliminate the last remaining terrorists.
In preparation for receiving displaced residents in southern Gaza, the IDF is expanding Crossing 147 to increase the flow of aid into the designated humanitarian area.
Israeli forces continue to strike Hamas targets in the Gaza City area ahead of the ground invasion, with the IDF stating on Wednesday that more than 360 targets were attacked by dozens of aircraft in three waves.
The army is continuing to investigate the incident, as during a dawn alert, the troops are supposed to be at peak alertness and vigilance, specifically on the lookout against such an attack.
Residents can use the hotline to report roadblocks or threats from the terror group aimed at stopping civilians from fleeing to safety.
The IDF has ramped up its Gaza offensive with targeted strikes on high-rises used as Hamas command hubs, now controlling 40% of Gaza City and pushing forward to dismantle the group’s urban strongholds.
With regard to the military offensive in the Strip, Netanyahu noted that around 100,000 Palestinians have left Gaza City thus far.
Before the war, drone use was largely limited to the air force or assigned at the battalion level, serving groups of roughly 250 soldiers.
Only by seizing the ground, officials argued, can Israel properly remove the threat, create the conditions for a new reality in Gaza, and generate the leverage needed to secure the return of the hostages.
Israel’s armed forces have begun implementing the Aug. 8 decision to occupy Gaza City, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
IDF troops spent three months in southern Khan Yunis eliminating dozens of terrorists—including October 7 attackers—destroying tunnels and weapons caches, dismantling Hamas infrastructure, and securing the ‘Magen Oz’ axis.
In late October 2023, the Arab media division of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit revealed Abu Obeida’s identity, naming him as Hudhayfah Kahlot.
Lubliner was the 114th soldier to fall from the Golani Brigade, which has suffered the most losses in the war.
Formed 20 years ago as a classified offshoot of the Maglan brigade, Unit 6 specializes in ‘exposure-strike’ operations, identifying and neutralizing high-value targets deep in hostile territory.
Military officials said the infiltration was part of Hamas’s wider attack strategy, noting daylight assaults are meant to catch forces off guard.
The key to victory, an expert argued, is to target Hamas’s greatest strategic vulnerability: its reliance on the Gazan population as a human shield.
