Israel reported on Thursday that a battalion of tanks and infantry carried out a “night operation” in Gaza, targeting multiple sites before withdrawing to Israeli territory, AFP reported.
The incursion came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced preparations for a potential ground war.
The Israel Defense Forces labeled the operation as a “targeted raid,” hitting several “terrorist cells”, infrastructure, and anti-tank missile launch posts. Emphasizing it as preparation for upcoming combat phases, the IDF stated that the troops had already left the area and returned to Israel.
A video released by the military displayed a convoy of armored vehicles and bulldozers making their way toward what seemed to be a border fence, breaching it in the process. Although the location was confirmed as south of Ashkelon, the timing of the footage could not be independently verified by AFP.
Another video indicated an airstrike and subsequent buildings being hit with munitions, causing debris to soar high into the air alongside a thick plume of smoke.
