Israel used a swarm of tanks, bulldozers and APCs to launch a targeted night attack on Hamas targets in Gaza on Wednesday evening. This was the largest attack since the terrorist group’s October 7 atrocities.
Ahead of a suspected impending ground attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), soldiers with armored bulldozers breached the border walls separating the Gaza Strip from Israel and then claimed to have destroyed military targets.
The IDF said it suffered no casualties in the “battlefield preparation” operation after a brutal two-week siege on Palestinian territory.
Grainy footage shared on social media showed armored vehicles crossing the heavily fortified barrier from Israel and blowing up buildings “in preparation for the next phases of fighting.”
“Tanks and infantry attacked numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch sites,” the IDF said.
It was the most significant escalation of Israeli violence since Hamas’ bloody rampage in southern Israel, in which 1,400 civilians were murdered and more than 200 kidnapped.
Leading the push into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening was the “Doobie,” a type of armored bulldozer with bulletproof windows and metal slats that repel RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades).
The bulldozers, named after the Hebrew word for teddy bear, are designed to break through obstacles such as border fences and walls to clear the way for soldiers and other armored vehicles.
Footage of the attack also showed 50-ton Namer infantry fighting vehicles (APCs) and columns of Merkava tanks.
The tanks can carry up to ten people – four crew members and six passengers – and weigh 65 tons each.
Last night, tanks breached Gaza’s northern border and drove south, marking a possible rehearsal of a future full-scale invasion.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops were still preparing for a full ground invasion, while the US urged Israel to delay for fear it could lead to hostilities on other fronts in the Middle East.
Palestinians said Israeli airstrikes hit the area again on Thursday evening and people in central Gaza reported intense tank fire.
Israel’s defense minister said his country would invade Gaza if “the conditions are right.” “The day when it will come is not far off… the maneuver will begin when the conditions are right,” Yoav Gallant said. He added that Israel has no interest in war with any enemy other than Hamas.
“We are waging war against Hamas on the southern front and are prepared for any development in the north. Hezbollah is suffering heavy losses.”
People search for survivors and the bodies of victims in the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip
Smoke and fire rise from buildings as people gather amid the destruction following an Israeli attack on Gaza City on October 26
A man carries an injured child to a hospital in Khan Younis after an Israeli airstrike
Entire areas of the Gaza Strip were razed to the ground
Palestinians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings after Israeli airstrikes
“However, we have no interest in expanding the war,” he said.
Dozens of suspected Hamas terrorists have been arrested by the IDF in a series of raids in the West Bank.
IDF officers have arrested 1,000 Palestinians since October 7, about 660 of whom are believed to have ties to Hamas.
Police said they arrested 46 suspected Hamas members in Wednesday night raids. Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, there has been increased violence between IDF troops and Palestinians in the West Bank.
A ground offensive across the densely populated, 25-mile-long Gaza Strip is seen as necessary by Israel to achieve its goal of dismantling the terrorist group, which has ruled since 2007.
Wednesday’s nighttime attack came alongside an increased Israeli Air Force bombing campaign against 250 Hamas targets.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later released footage it claimed showed its fighter jets carrying out a “precise airstrike” that eliminated the commander of the Hamas Northern Khan Yunis rocket-firing facility, Hassan Al-Abdullah.
Philip Ingram, a former British Army intelligence officer, told the Mail that Israel’s invasion was an attempt to trigger Hamas defenses and find out where possible ambushes might lie.
He said: “It’s called battlefield shaping.” They send in small troops to better understand what defenses Hamas has put in place to identify potential sniper and ambush sites.
“They will try to find out where there may be entrances to the tunnel system from which Hamas could emerge, which they would have to deal with very quickly.”
“They will see an increase in the amount of these attacks in the coming days in various places across the border, into Gaza, before they then send through a slightly larger force that will establish a bridgehead that will then be is used to launch their main efforts.’
He added that Hamas had had more than 12 months to prepare for a possible ground invasion, so Israel was aware that it was “essentially entering a prepared live ambush situation.”
Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Israel’s war cabinet, said any possible ground offensive would be just “a phase in a long-term process that includes security, political and social aspects and would take many years.”
“The campaign will move forward with greater vigor soon,” he added.
People take shelter during a rocket alert as they take part in a demonstration calling for the release of hostages taken to the Gaza Strip
Wounded Palestinians are treated at Al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City
Palestinians search for survivors and the bodies of victims in the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli bombing
Smoke and fire rise from buildings as rescuers gather amid the destruction following an Israeli attack on Gaza City
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Thursday
An injured man sits in front of a smoldering building after an Israeli attack on Gaza City
The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said yesterday that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes since October 7 now stands at 7,028, including 2,913 children.
This marked an increase of more than 500 since Wednesday.
Israel bombed the densely populated Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7th. According to Israel, Hamas killed around 1,400 people, including children, and took more than 200 hostages, including infants and older adults.
The US State Department said Washington knew that significant numbers of people had died in Gaza but did not have independent confirmation of the numbers and did not trust the figures released by Hamas.
The Israeli military also said Hamas’ numbers could not be trusted, but did not provide its own assessment. Hamas spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra rejected statements questioning the figures.
The ministry released a 212-page document on Thursday containing the names of all identified victims and their ID numbers.
In a further attempt to increase geopolitical pressure on its allies, terror group Hamas yesterday called on Arab and Islamic states to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.
In addition, all states of the Arab League, whose members include Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were asked to boycott Israel completely.
The devastation caused from the air over Gaza has caused a major humanitarian crisis, which has been exacerbated by Israel’s refusal to allow any aid to cross its borders into the Gaza Strip. Egypt has since agreed to facilitate the delivery of aid across its shared border with the southern Gaza Strip, and yesterday 12 trucks managed to cross the devastated region.
The UN warned that it was running out of fuel in Gaza, forcing it to drastically scale back aid efforts.
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said 100 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF in the West Bank since October 7.
Two drones reportedly attacked the US al-Harir Air Base near Erbil airport in Iraq last night, a local news agency announced.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Moscow yesterday for talks with the Kremlin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Hamas delegation also included a high-ranking member of the banned terrorist group Abu Marzouk. According to Russian news agencies, the talks focused on the release of foreign hostages, including Russian citizens held hostage in Gaza.
Russia has developed close ties with Hamas as it increasingly relies on Iran’s weapons in its war against Ukraine.
This came as the US said on Thursday that another 900 troops had either just arrived or were on their way to the Gaza Strip.
As tensions rise over the war between Israel and Hamas, U.S. troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria in the past week, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said at a news conference.
Ryder said U.S. forces had already been attacked in Iraq on Thursday, but the attack failed.