JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said on Monday (Oct 23) that its ground forces mounted limited raids into Gaza and airstrikes targeted Palestinian militants assembling to repulse any wider Israeli invasion, as each side prepares for the next stage of the escalating war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday that its fighters had engaged an armoured force infiltrating a southern area of Gaza and destroyed some Israeli military equipment before returning to base. There was no Israeli comment on such losses.
How soon Israel might launch a full-scale invasion is not clear, and neither side can know exactly what to expect when it does.
The Middle East’s most powerful military faces a group that has built up a powerful arsenal with Iran’s help, fighting in a crowded urban setting and using a vast tunnel network it has built that Israeli troops have dubbed the Gaza Metro.
In a televised briefing describing Israel’s latest moves on the ground, Israel’s chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said that 222 people had now been confirmed as taken hostage during the Oct 7 cross-border onslaught by Hamas.
“During the night there were raids by tank and infantry forces. These raids are raids that kill squads of terrorists who are preparing for the next stage in the war,” he said, describing incursions that went “deep” into Gaza.
“These raids also locate and search for anything we can get in terms of intelligence on the missing and the hostages.”
Hagari said such interventions helped Israel understand where “the terrorists are assembling”.
“The terrorists are getting organised in anticipation of the next stages of the war. And our role is to reduce these threats,” he said.
Stoking expectations of a full-scale ground offensive by Israeli forces massed around Gaza, he said that the military’s operational readiness was improving and being enhanced “all the time”.
The Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement on Sunday that its forces had engaged with a force infiltrating east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
“Fighters engaged with the infiltrating force, destroying two bulldozers and a tank and forced the force to withdraw, before they returned safely to base,” the statement said.