Israel launches first ground raids in Gaza

A version of this story appeared in the Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each Wednesday.

Israel on Friday confirmed its troops carried out their first ground raids in the Gaza Strip against Hamas targets, as the Israeli military prepares for what looks to be a much larger incursion after it warned more than 1 million Gaza residents to flee the northern section of the strip immediately.

Israeli Defense Forces officials said in social media posts that the raids took place over the past day. It’s not clear if Israel suffered any casualties in the operations or how much fighting took place in Gaza. The Times of Israel reported Friday that “several terrorists” were killed in the operation, which came amid chaotic scenes as tens of thousands of residents reportedly rushed to flee the strip in anticipation of more Israeli military action.

Israeli military officials did not say whether the initial ground raids were the first step in a larger counterstrike to unfold over the weekend.

“During the last day, the IDF forces carried out local raids in the territory of the Gaza Strip to complete the effort to cleanse the area of terrorists and weapons. In these operations, an effort was also made to locate missing people,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said in a social media post.

IDF officials said in other social media posts that its soldiers “collected evidence that will aid in locating hostages,” a reference to the roughly 150 people that Hamas is believed to be holding prisoner. At least some of those captives are U.S. citizens, the Biden administration has confirmed.

Reuters reported Friday that Israeli tanks and infantry units were employed in the ground raids in Gaza. The raid may be the first salvo in a much larger operation. Israel has been amassing troops and equipment along its border with Gaza in the days since last weekend’s surprise Hamas attack, which killed more than 1,300 Israelis and at least 27 Americans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not offer details about what Israel’s response will look like in the coming days, but he made clear that the offensive is in its early stages.

“This is just the beginning,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will end this war stronger than ever.”

“We will destroy Hamas,” he said.

Until Friday’s ground raids, Israel’s military response has come mostly in the form of airstrikes against alleged Hamas targets across the densely packed Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people. The strip is politically controlled by Hamas, which is financially  supported by Iran.

Ahead of a full-scale ground operation, Israel warned residents to leave the northern section of Gaza by midnight Saturday. Convoys of residents fleeing Gaza City were hit by Israeli airstrikes Friday afternoon, Hamas said, alleging that women and children were among the 70 people killed in those strikes. Those claims were not immediately confirmed by independent media there. It’s not clear whether Hamas militants were in the convoy.

Critics fear that the loss of innocent life is inevitable unless Israel rescinds its evacuation warning for roughly half of the Gaza Strip population. The United Nations, other nations and leading humanitarian groups have blasted that evacuation order and said it simply isn’t feasible. And even if it were, they say, the humanitarian consequences of moving so many people in such a short period of time, in such an impoverished area, would be devastating.

“The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated warzone in less than 24 hours?” Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s emergency relief coordinator, said in a social media post Friday. “I shudder to think what the humanitarian consequences of the evacuation order would be.”

But Israel maintains it wants to give fair warning to innocent civilians.

“The IDF will protect the people of Israel. Hamas indiscriminately slaughtered innocent Israeli civilians. Now Hamas is hiding behind the people in Gaza,” the IDF said in a social media post Friday. “That’s why we’re asking them to move. Because the IDF will protect the people of Israel.”

The U.N. Security Council met behind closed doors on Friday as officials warn that a humanitarian catastrophe may be on the horizon. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to both sides to spare civilians.

“Even wars have rules,” he said. “International humanitarian law and human rights law must be respected and upheld. Civilians must be protected and never used as shields.”