According to Israeli Army Radio, there was a relatively large incursion into the Gaza Strip by Israeli ground troops last night. This was used to attack Hamas positions. The operation has now been terminated, he said.
Several facilities belonging to radical Islamist Hamas were attacked before soldiers withdrew, the military said this morning. The Army Radio station reported the largest deployment of ground troops to date in the current war.
“Preparation for the next phase”
In a video released by the military of the nighttime operation, armored vehicles could be seen passing through a sandy border area. The tanks fired grenades. Explosions were seen near or among several damaged buildings.
The military said the incursion was “preparation for the next phases of the fighting.” This could be a reference to a full-scale invasion by ground troops, which the Israeli government has repeatedly threatened. The government’s stated goal is to end Hamas. “The soldiers have now left the area and returned to Israeli territory,” the military statement continued.
Hamas: Death toll in Gaza rises
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid continues to reach the needy population of the Gaza Strip in small steps.
Meanwhile, the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes against the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip has risen to 6,547, according to Hamas. As the UN emergency aid office, OCHA, announced this morning, citing the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip, 68 percent of the fatal victims would be children and women. Around 1,600 people in Gaza are considered missing. These numbers cannot be independently verified.
US President Joe Biden doubts Palestinian information about deaths in the Gaza Strip. He “has no confidence in the numbers the Palestinians use.” Biden did not explain why he questioned the numbers.