Israel launches second night raid on Gaza with tanks, drones and helicopter gunships ahead of looming invasion
ISRAEL said it has carried out its second consecutive night raid in the besieged Gaza Strip as the country prepares for its full-scale ground invasion.
Tank columns supported by warplanes, helicopters and drones stormed across the border and destroyed Hamas terror targets and infrastructure, the IDF claimed.
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The hour-long raid took place near the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City as drones and helicopter gunships swarmed overhead.
The Israeli military said: “On the last day, IDF ground forces, accompanied by IDF fighter jets and UAVs, carried out another targeted attack in the central Gaza Strip.”
“The IDF has identified and attacked numerous terrorist targets, including anti-tank missile launch sites, military command and control centers, and Hamas terrorists,” it said.
Black-and-white footage released by the military showed a column of armored vehicles as a thick cloud of dust rose into the sky following the attacks.
The army conducted a similar ground operation with tanks and infantry the night before in the northern part of the Palestinian territory.
The latest attacks came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated earlier this week that Israel was “preparing for a ground offensive.”
On Wednesday evening, a swarm of Israeli tanks stormed into northern Gaza as Netanyahu vowed to soon “pay the full price for these killings.”
The IDF said yesterday that tanks, troops and bulldozers had destroyed “numerous” Hamas terrorist cells in their nightly “targeted raid.”
Footage showed Israeli bulldozers paving the way for armored vehicles across the border before a huge column of tanks rolled down a road.
Tanks are then seen firing at multiple targets “in preparation for the next phases of combat.”
It follows a huge cloud of smoke billowing into the night sky as Israeli troops blast a target near a built-up area.
Israel’s Army Radio said it was the biggest incursion into the conflict so far, as Israel claims it is ready for the “next stage of the war” – and last night’s raid appeared to be just as big and daring.
According to Israeli officials, hordes of armed Hamas militants poured into Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 224 others.
At least 7,028 people, including 2,913 children, were killed in Israeli retaliatory air and artillery strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
The death toll in Gaza is the highest there since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Palestinian territory in 2005.
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