Israeli Forces Conduct Ground Operation in Gaza in Anticipation of a Larger Offensive

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In a nighttime operation extending into the early hours of Thursday, Israeli military units, including tanks, executed a ground assault on northern Gaza. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the mission targeted multiple militant installations, serving as a “preparation of the battlefield” for a broader ground offensive, which is expected to follow more than two weeks of intense aerial bombardments.

This development came in the wake of a United Nations warning stating that fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip are on the brink of exhaustion. The shortage has severely restricted the U.N.’s relief operations in the area, already compromised due to a total blockade enforced after violent acts by Hamas in southern Israel instigated the current hostilities earlier this month.

Unprecedented casualties have been reported, with the death toll in Gaza exceeding 7,000 as of Thursday, according to Palestinian authorities. The casualties could escalate further should Israel proceed with the anticipated ground offensive to neutralize Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza since 2007, which has engaged in four previous armed conflicts with Israel.

In the preceding 24 hours, the Health Ministry in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, indicated that fatalities had increased to over 750 from 704 the previous day. However, these figures have not been independently verified by The Big Big News, and the ministry’s statistics do not distinguish between civilian and militant deaths.

Additional Coverage

• Live Updates: Israeli Forces Make Brief Entry into Gaza as Broader Ground Invasion Looms
• Economic Instabilities in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan Amplified by Israel-Hamas Conflict
• Al-Jazeera Reporter Loses Four Family Members in Israeli Airstrike

Wael Dahdouh, an experienced Al-Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, suffered the loss of his wife, son, daughter, and grandson due to an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday. Footage captured his anguish as he encountered his deceased son at a hospital. The funeral proceedings took place on Thursday.

The IDF maintains that its operations focus solely on militant objectives and accuses Hamas of embedding within civilian populations in the densely-populated Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants have continually fired rockets into Israel since the onset of hostilities.

Israel has expressed its determination to incapacitate Hamas’s ability to govern Gaza or pose future threats, while also reiterating its reluctance to reoccupy the territory it vacated in 2005. Achieving this goal presents a formidable challenge, given Hamas’s entrenched position in Palestinian society, encompassing political, charitable, and armed factions.

Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Israel’s war Cabinet, outlined that any forthcoming ground offensive would constitute “one stage in a long-term process” that would take years to fully realize and would involve security, political, and social dimensions.

Humanitarian Concerns

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has sounded the alarm on the impending fuel crisis, which could exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation. The conflict has significantly strained essential resources such as food, water, and medicine. Approximately 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced, with a large number seeking refuge in U.N. shelters.

Hamas currently holds at least 224 hostages in Gaza, and over 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, the majority of whom were civilians.

A spokesperson for UNRWA faced the grim decision of allocating remaining fuel between life-essential services like incubators or bakeries, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian predicament. Furthermore, over half of Gaza’s primary healthcare centers and around a third of its hospitals have ceased operations, according to the World Health Organization.

Regional Implications

The military turmoil has not been confined to Israel and Gaza. Israeli forces have also targeted military installations in Syria in retaliation for rocket launches, and exchanges of fire with Iranian-backed Hezbollah across the Lebanese border have been reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to hold individuals accountable for the oversight leading to the surprise Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, but emphasized that such inquiries would be conducted post-conflict.

This comprehensive report includes contributions from Beirut and Jerusalem, with additional input from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip and Cairo.

For further information, please refer to the full coverage on Big Big News.

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More about Israeli Ground Operation in Gaza

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
• World Health Organization on Gaza Healthcare
• Israeli Defense Forces Official Statement
• Palestinian Health Ministry Statistics
• Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
• Conflict Impact on Regional Economies
• Hezbollah and Israel Exchanges
• International Committee of the Red Cross Activities in Gaza
• Doctors Without Borders Report on Gaza
• Big Big News Coverage on Israel-Gaza Conflict