‘Preparing the Battlefield’: Israel conducts targeted raid inside Gaza
Israeli tanks rolled into the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday night in a pinpoint raid “as part of preparations for the next stages of combat” the Israel Defence Forces said on Thursday morning.
Israeli soldiers along the Lebanese border Photo by Yehuda Merzbach/TPS
The Israeli forces struck terrorists along with terror infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts in order “to prepare the battlefield,” before returning to Israeli territory, the IDF said.
Israel’s Army Radio reported that the raid was more extensive than the other ground activities carried out in Gaza in the two weeks since the start of “Operation Swords of Iron.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a prime-time televised speech on Wednesday night that the IDF is preparing for a ground operation in Gaza, adding that the timing had been unanimously agreed on by the war cabinet and military establishment.
“We are working around the clock in order to execute the goals of our war until victory, and we do so without political considerations,” said Netanyahu.
“We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is just the beginning,” he said. “All Hamas operatives must die, above ground, underground, inside Gaza and outside Gaza.”
Israel has reportedly acceded to an American request to hold off on its planned ground invasion of Gaza so that U.S. forces can position air defences to protect troops in the region.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported on Thursday that the Israeli Defense Ministry is set to extend the evacuation order of communities located along the Gaza and Lebanese borders until Dec. 31.
Some 200,000 Israelis are currently displaced internally due to the ongoing war with Hamas in the south and rising tensions along the northern border due to Hezbollah.
TPS
