The Israeli army began its extensive ground operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday, moving tanks, bulldozers, infantry and combat engineering units into the Gaza Strip.
But rather than rapidly advancing on Gaza City, Israeli forces appear to be moving slowly toward the enclave’s largest population center.
Based on videos and photos from open and official sources, as well as reporting from CNN teams on the ground, it appears that Israeli forces have crossed the border in three main locations.
The first lies in the northwest corner of the strip. A video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday morning showed bulldozers pushing through the sand very close to the coast. You can clearly see a breakthrough in the perimeter fence through which Israeli vehicles have apparently entered the Gaza Strip.
But there are also indications of Israeli forces near the sea further south of this location.
A video circulated on Sunday showing Israeli soldiers waving a flag from the roof of a resort hotel that CNN tracked to Atatra, about two miles south of the perimeter fence.
On Tuesday, photos released by the Israeli army showed soldiers deeper into the Gaza Strip, just north of the Al-Shati, or Beach, refugee camp, which would have put them only about five kilometers from the center of Gaza City.
A second point According to footage and satellite images, the attack, in which Israeli troops appear to have entered the Gaza Strip, came from the northeastern corner of the Gaza Strip, near the town of Beit Hanoun. Video distributed by the Israeli army and geolocated by CNN shows dozens of soldiers advancing on foot across sandy terrain and, in another clip, a bulldozer pushing through sandy soil to create a path clear of IEDs (improvised explosive devices).
Videos show abandoned buildings suffering massive damage from Israeli air and artillery strikes ahead of the ground operation. There is no visible presence of civilians or Hamas fighters in the footage, suggesting that people had fled or retreated before the Israeli military arrived. Still, just about a mile away on the Israeli side of the border, a CNN team reported hearing sporadic machine gun fire and several explosions from the same direction on Tuesday morning.
The CNN team reported that the number of Israeli military vehicles within the perimeter appears to be increasing as the IDF appears to have once again expanded the ground operation.
This is finally indicated by further video evidence that emerged on Monday a possible third entry point about 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) south, along the eastern border. The video, filmed by freelance Palestinian journalist Yousif Al Saifi, shows an Israeli tank opening fire on a car on the main Salah Al Din road, which runs the length of the strip.
The video was geolocated by CNN just south of the Netzarim crossing, which is named after a former Israeli settlement and is likely viewed by Israel as a strategic location to hold on to if it wants to separate the northern part of the Gaza Strip from the south.
Read more about Israel’s ground operation in Gaza.