“The air force is hitting underground targets very significantly,” Hagari said, adding that ground forces would expand their attacks on Gaza overnight.
Israeli troops have carried out a number of limited strikes in the strip over the past two days, but no major offensives have been announced. Hagari’s statement was the clearest indication since the conflict began on October 7 that an offensive that the IDF has been preparing for nearly three weeks is imminent.
Israel expands operations in Gaza. (Illustration photo)
The IDF said its tanks and infantry moved into central Gaza the day before and destroyed “dozens of terrorist targets, including anti-tank missile launch sites and operational headquarters,” as well as Hamas militants. Israeli forces withdrew after the raid with no casualties, the IDF added.
Hamas said its fighters had engaged the Israelis with guns and anti-tank missiles, forcing them to flee back into Israeli territory.
Hagari and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have been warning for weeks that the IDF is ready to launch an attack on Gaza. Gallant has declared that “there will be no Hamas” after the operation.
However, the Israeli government has yet to issue an order. Media reports say the US is pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay the operation, allowing Qatar-brokered talks to free some of the estimated 200 hostages being held by Hamas.
US officials “ are also concerned that the Israel Defense Forces still do not have a clear military path to achieving its goal of destroying Hamas,” The New York Times reported on Monday. Given the high risk to civilians, the Pentagon has urged the Israeli prime minister to “think carefully” about how to proceed with the operation.
According to the most recent figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, some 7,028 people, including 2,913 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since October 7. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the same period.
Earlier, local media reported that an unidentified missile had fallen on the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Taba, just across the border with Israel, damaging a hospital and injuring at least six people.
Egypt's Al Qahera news channel reported that a rocket was believed to have hit a medical facility early on October 27. Five victims were treated for minor injuries, while a sixth person was said to be in stable condition.
Egyptian security forces have opened an investigation to determine the source of the missile launch, and are said to reserve “the right to respond at the appropriate time”.
Phuong Anh (Source: RT)
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