A spokesman for the Israeli army said today that Israel is stepping up its offensive in the Gaza Strip with infantry and armored vehicles, supported by what he said were “extensive” air and sea strikes.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were “continuing the war”.
Earlier today, the military released video footage showing rows of armored vehicles moving slowly across the open sands of Gaza in the first visual confirmation of ground forces’ entry. In the previous days, the army carried out night raids by the ground army and soon returned to the territory of Israel.
The military released not-so-technically clear images of tank columns moving through parts of Gaza and said its warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers overnight. This indicated the intensification of the campaign to destroy the Palestinian group that is in power in the Gaza Strip, after its bloody incursion into the south of Israel three weeks ago.
The first video confirmation of the presence of ground forces and the heavy bombing of underground targets are a new sign that Israel is getting closer to a general invasion of Gaza, according to AP.
Israeli army spokesman Hagari said late last night that ground forces were “expanding their activities” in Gaza and were operating “with great force… to achieve the objectives of the war”.
Israel has massed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border ahead of an expected wider ground offensive.
Tonight, Israeli warplanes struck 150 tunnels and underground bunkers in northern Gaza, the army announced.
Hamas’s vast network of underground tunnels, many of which lie beneath Gaza City in the north of the territory, are seen as key targets of the offensive.
As part of the increased bombardment, Israel also hit communications and this led to a complete disruption of the communication system, largely leaving the 2.3 million people in besieged Gaza without contact with the outside world.
The Palestinians, who were already in the dark because the electricity was cut off a few weeks ago, are now isolated, hiding in their homes and shelters, and food and water supplies are disappearing. Attempts to reach Gazans by phone this morning were largely unsuccessful, Beta reports.
