Israel Offensive Underway In Gaza
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – An Israeli ground offensive appeared underway in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, with the Israeli defense minister saying that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entered the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.
“Overnight, IDF forces entered the northern Gaza Strip and expanded ground activities,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “Covered by aerial support, IDF infantry, armor, engineer, and artillery forces took part in these activities.”
The troops entered Gaza Saturday morning local time, said IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari.
Galant said that so far, there were no reports of casualties in the operation that Israel says targets Hamas, which it designated as a terrorist organization.
The minister said the “ground shook in Gaza last night,” and he warned the IDF “entered a new stage in the conflict…the operation will continue until new orders are given.”
It was not immediately clear how many IDF troops had entered the Gaza Strip and whether this was part of the expected massive ground invasion or more or less limited in scope.
Gallant choose his words carefully, saying, “The expansion of the IDF’s operational activity furthers the war’s goals.” He said the “IDF is regularly assessing the situation and advancing according to the stages of the war.”
THREATENING GROUND INVASION
The Jerusalem Post newspaper commented that the “IDF had been threatening a full ground invasion for more than two weeks. But due to a combination of reasons – some known and some unknown – a full incursion had yet to occur.”
It noted that already on Thursday, “the IDF sent troops inside Gaza to strike Hamas targets – both on the ground and via the sea.” However, these troops “entered and exited the strip in the same evening.”
Israeli forces attacked Gaza while Hamas official Ghazi Hamad desperately tried to call for an “immediate implementation” of the United Nations General Assembly decision to allow humanitarian relief into Gaza.
He warned of a disaster as Israel widened its air and ground attacks overnight. “We consider the [U.N.] decision a victory for our Palestinian people. And we demand that this aid piled up on the Egyptian side be quickly sent and distributed to all areas and hospitals in the Gaza Strip,” Hamad told reporters in Beirut, Lebanon.
Israel has been reluctant to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, citing fears it will end up with Hamas, which it has pledged to destroy after the group killed 1,400 people in Israel, ranging from Holocaust survivors to toddlers and babies.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly called for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas and demanded aid access to the besieged Gaza Strip and protection of civilians. Arab states drafted the resolution, which is not binding, but its supporters say it carries political weight.
Some 120 states voted for the resolution put forward by Jordan amid mounting concerns about the plight of the 2.3 million civilians in Gaza. Israel has accused Hamas of placing weapons and fighters among ordinary Palestinians and hostages, using them as human shields.
DEATH TOLL RISING
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 7,500 people have been killed since Israel launched retaliatory bombings following the Hamas’ massacres on Saturday, October 7, now known as “Black Sabbath” in Israel.
Figures given by Hamas are difficult to verify in an area without full press freedom.
Additionally communication networks went down overnight, apparently due to Israeli air strikes.
The Israel-Hamas war intensified as the nuclear-powered U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday on its way to the Middle East, several sources said.
The carrier arrived in the area after passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, according to multiple shipping monitoring analysts.
The warship and accompanying vessels were dispatched to the area on October 14 as part of what Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said was an effort “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel.”
It will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group already in the region.
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