Israel said Thursday that a column of tanks and infantry had launched an overnight raid into Hamas-controlled Gaza, striking “numerous” targets before retreating to home soil. The military said the operation, led by the Givati infantry brigade and the 162nd Armored Division, was ‘in preparation for the next stages of combat’ against the terror group. It ‘destroyed terrorist infrastructures, anti-tank missile launching positions and more,’ it said in a statement.
Observers said the limited raid was a sign that Israeli forces are preparing for a full-scale ground war to destroy Hamas, the Islamist group with a formidable armed wing. Israel has been under intense pressure from Palestinians and world leaders to stop the offensive, which it insists is needed to crush the jihadist group.
The military has pounded Gaza with over 250 air strikes in the past 24 hours. It threatens to widen the operation, as it did after the rocket attacks that prompted Israel’s invasion earlier this month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas terrorists in a televised speech Thursday that they were doomed and that he planned to push ahead with the planned ground invasion of the enclave.
Israeli tanks are a vital part of the plan, analysts say, because they can penetrate more deeply into Gaza than aircraft and provide valuable intelligence as they move near Hamas positions. They also allow Israel to use bulldozers to clear away anti-tank defenses and identify minefields, said Sean Bell, a Middle East analyst at the IDF’s Institute for National Security Studies.
An amphibious landing by land troops, he added, might be possible but would require support from other units on the ground and via air power to ensure success. Bell noted that a sea-borne operation would also require a more significant force because the water provides an escape route for Hamas fighters and could destabilize Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.
Despite the military actions, Palestinians say their lives haven’t been improved, a fact that’s creating a broader crisis throughout the region. The closure of the Gaza crossings has prevented the entry of crucial food, medicine, and fuel for generators that run hospitals, bakeries, and water desalination plants. Hundreds of trucks were entering the enclave daily before Oct. 7, but since then, only seven have been permitted to pass, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
The siege is triggering economic crises in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, bordering countries. They also affect the well-being of 1.1 million people living in Gaza, where food, medical supplies, and electricity run out. The United Nations has warned of a catastrophic humanitarian catastrophe. Amid the uncertainty, many in Gaza express their frustration and anger over what they see as an Israel that treats them as less than human. ‘I want to leave,’ one man told the BBC Friday morning. ‘It is not safe here anymore.’ ‘I am happy with what Hamas has done so far, taking revenge for the Israeli attack on al-Aqsa Mosque, the holiest site in Islam, but now I have to worry about my children,’ another man told.
