Israel's Ground Forces Raid Gaza Again

Israeli soldiers said to have struck dozens of militant targets over 24 hours
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 27, 2023 5:49 AM CDT
Israel Launches 2nd Ground Raid in Gaza
Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.   (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days and struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, the military said Friday, as it prepares for a widely expected ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory, per the AP. US warplanes, meanwhile, struck targets in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard after a string of attacks on American forces, and two mysterious objects hit towns in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, adding to the already high tensions fueled by the three-week-old Gaza war. The Palestinian death toll has soared past 7,000 as Israel has carried out waves of devastating airstrikes in response to a bloody Hamas incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The Health Ministry in Gaza, which tracks the toll, released a detailed list of names and identification numbers on Thursday. The toll includes more than 2,900 minors and more than 1,500 women. The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous wars between Israel and Hamas, estimated at around 4,000. The airstrikes have flattened entire neighborhoods, as shown in recent satellite images by Maxar Technologies. More than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were slain during the initial Hamas attack, according to the Israeli government. Hamas is holding at least 229 captives inside Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults.

About 1.4 million of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have fled their homes, with many heeding Israeli orders to evacuate to the south, despite continuing Israeli strikes across the sealed-off territory. The military says it only strikes militant targets and accuses Hamas of operating among civilians in an attempt to protect its fighters. The Israeli military said that an airstrike killed one of two masterminds of the Oct. 7 massacre, Shadi Barud, the head of Hamas' intelligence unit. Hamas' military wing said Thursday that Israeli bombardment has so far killed about 50 Israeli hostages. There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials, who have denied previous, similar claims.

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The military said ground forces raided inside Gaza, striking dozens of militant targets over the past 24 hours. It said aircraft and artillery bombed targets in Shijaiyah, a neighborhood on Gaza City's outskirts that was the scene of an urban battle in the 2014 Gaza war. The military said the soldiers exited the territory without suffering any casualties. It reported an earlier, hourslong raid into northern Gaza early Thursday. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said the raids enable forces to "uncover the enemy," to kill militants, and to remove explosives and launch pads. The aim is "to prepare the ground for the next stages of the war," he added. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)

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