Israel preparing for massive assault against Hamas in Gaza

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have stated they are wrapping up preparations for a “significant ground operation” in the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Palestine war enters its ninth day.

A “joint and coordinated attack from the air, sea, and land,” according to the IDF statement, is among the offensive operational plans it is getting ready to deploy in order to “expand the offensive.”

The logistics directorate is preparing to outfit troops with all of the equipment they would need for the ground offensive, according to the IDF, which stated that it is finalising the draught of hundreds of thousands of reservists.

It said: “In recent days, the tools required for combat have been transferred to the assembly areas, and at this stage, the various units of the Technological and Logistics Directorate are working to complete the qualification of the tools and equipping them with advanced combat means, as needed.”

“IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed all over the country and are prepared to increase readiness for the next stages of the war, with an emphasis on a significant ground operation,” the military added, according to The Times of Israel.

As tensions on the northern border rise, the military is anticipated to start a ground invasion in the Gaza Strip, but its scope and timing may be influenced by operational factors.

Tzachi Hanegbi, the head of Israel’s National Security Council, has reiterated that the cabinet’s war objective is to deprive Hamas of its ability to govern the Gaza Strip militarily and politically.

Hanegbi, however, chose not to go into further detail about the seaside enclave’s future plans.

When asked about Israeli plans for alternative control, or return to occupation, of the Gaza Strip, Hanegbi told The Times of Israel, “We can’t report through you to the enemy on what is coming, we can tell Hamas that it is prohibited for it to be sovereign in Gaza.”

Hanegbi claims that the prime minister and defence minister made statements about a plan to “destroy” Hamas during a recent cabinet meeting.

“Hamas will not be the ruler, the sovereign in Gaza after the combat,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is ready with its fighters in the Gaza Strip at the front line.

“With our fighters in the Gaza Strip, on the front line. We are all ready,” Netanyahu wrote on ‘X’ on Saturday.

According to his office, Netanyahu visited Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Kfar Azza, two of the Gaza border towns that were most severely impacted by last week’s Hamas offensive.

Netanyahu, according to a statement, “walked between the ruins of the houses where these terrible massacres took place.”

The IDF officials present, including the commander of the paratrooper unit, briefed the prime minister.

More than a week after the attack, in which waves of Hamas terrorists broke through the border, killing more than 1,300 Israelis, the majority of whom were civilians, Netanyahu pays his first visit to the area.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has stated that the soldiers from Unit 669 were dispatched to the scene as soon as they learned of the injuries sustained as a result of the terrorists’ infiltration of Zikim.

“The forces worked to rescue the wounded under fire and mortar fire. Since the beginning of the fighting, Unit 669 rescued about 200 wounded in about 45 rescues,” the IAF wrote on ‘X’.

Following the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides, including civilians, a deal has been made under which Israel will permit visitors to leave the conflict-torn territory.

Israel promised to refrain from attacking areas the foreigners would pass through on their way out of Palestinian territory as part of an agreement with Egypt, the United States, and Israel to permit foreigners living in Gaza to enter the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.

The Palestinian militant organisations Hamas and Islamic Jihad gave their support to the participants, who apparently included Qatar in the negotiations.

Furthermore, the accord has no provisions for the release of captives held by Hamas.

A second officer at the Rafah crossing point on the Egyptian side claims to have received “instructions” to reopen it for travellers leaving Gaza on Saturday afternoon.

The first official stated that talks to open the border point for the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza were still ongoing.

Since neither official had permission to brief the media, they both agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.

A large-scale evacuation of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip has been mandated by Israel.

(With agency inputs)