Israeli ground forces have entered the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the Israel Defense Forces announced today – ahead of an expected ground offensive in the densely populated Palestinian territory, AFP reported.
“Over the past 24 hours, Israeli army forces have carried out local raids inside the territory of the Gaza Strip” to search for “terrorists” and weapons, the statement said. During these operations, efforts were also made to “find missing persons,” the Israeli army noted.
The statement also said the Israeli military had also “eliminated terrorist cells and infrastructure,” including a “Hamas cell that fired anti-tank rockets into Israeli territory.”
Israeli army infantry and tank units have taken part in raids in Gaza aimed at detecting rocket-firing cells and obtaining information on the whereabouts of hostages, the Israeli military said, quoted by Reuters.
The Israeli army said a significant number of Gazan civilians had begun moving south “to save themselves” and that the Israeli military had confirmed the presence of at least 120 prisoners in the enclave.
The Israel Defense Forces also claim that so far there have been almost no casualties from Hamas rocket fire against the Jewish state, as the population strictly obeys orders to shelter in bomb shelters.
Israel launched a war against Gaza after the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement “Hamas” on the Jewish state, and since then it has bombed the small, impoverished territory, which is in a state of complete blockade, BTA reported. At least 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, were killed and around 150 people were kidnapped in Gaza in the Hamas attack.
On the Palestinian side, 1,800 people were killed, including 583 children, and the bombing caused a mass displacement of the population in Gaza after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order for the northern part of the enclave.
2023-10-13 19:56:00
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