Israeli ground forces were operating in the northern Gaza Strip Saturday, the army said, more than 24 hours after entering the Palestinian territory three weeks into war with Hamas.
“Since early Friday evening, combined combat forces of armour, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip,” an army statement said.
The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Saturday that at least 7,703 people have been killed in the war with Israel that erupted on October 7.
More than 3,500 children are among the dead. The overall figure is the highest number of war fatalities in Gaza since Israel unilaterally withdrew from the territory in 2005.
Hamas pledged to confront Israeli attacks with “full force” after Israel’s military widened its air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave, suggesting on Saturday that a long-promised ground offensive had begun.
Israel said on Saturday morning its troops, sent in on Friday night, were still in the field, without elaborating. The country had earlier made only brief sorties into Gaza during three weeks of bombardment to root out Hamas militants, who it said had killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7.
Combined combat forces of armor, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in northern Gaza since early Friday evening.
As part of the operation IDF soldiers:
🔴Identified terrorist cells attempting to launch anti-tank missiles and mortar shells and struck… pic.twitter.com/QVv44VrXD0
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 28, 2023
“The forces are still in the field and continuing the war,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news briefing on Saturday morning.
