Ground operation already completed
Israel sends tanks into Gaza Strip again
October 26, 2023, 8:19 a.m
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During the night, the Israeli army carried out the largest deployment of ground troops to date in the Gaza Strip. An even larger invasion could soon follow: The armed forces explain that the incursion was made “in preparation for the next phases of the fight.”
The Israeli military sent some ground troops to the north of the Gaza Strip during the night, but has already ended the operation. Several facilities of the radical Islamic Hamas were attacked before the soldiers withdrew, the military said in the morning. The Army Radio station reported the largest deployment of ground troops to date in the current war.
In a video released by the military from the nighttime operation, armored vehicles could be seen driving through a sandy border zone. Tanks fired grenades. Explosions were seen near or amid a number of damaged buildings. The military said the incursion was “in preparation for the next phases of the fight.” This could be a reference to a large-scale invasion of ground troops, which the Israeli government has repeatedly threatened. The government’s stated goal is to wipe out Hamas.
“The soldiers have now left the area and returned to Israeli territory,” the military statement continued. On Sunday, the Israeli military began small-scale attacks on the ground. On Monday, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “There were raids by tank and infantry troops during the night.”
Retaliatory attacks in Lebanon
In retaliation for a previous rocket fire, the Israeli army said it also carried out air strikes on Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) air defense system intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at an Israeli drone, the military said on Wednesday evening. “In response, IDF aircraft attacked the source of the shootdown.”
The Israeli military’s massive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7 are also continuing. According to Israeli figures, around 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attack. According to Palestinian information, several thousand people have died in the continuous Israeli counterattacks since then.