Israeli ground offensive in Gaza ‘on table’ as rocket barrages continue

Speaking to reporters, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman said that the plans are being put together by the Gaza Division and Southern Command and will then be given to Israel’s political echelon for approval.

The IDF has hit government targets and banks as well senior leaders in the terror organization. On Thursday morning, the IDF struck a terrorist cell that was preparing to launch an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) towards Israel.

“The organization is losing everything,” Zilberman told reporters on Thursday morning.

“Tonight we started destroying government targets in the Gaza Strip, such as central banks and internal security buildings. Hamas is beginning to discover cracks and there is pressure in the organization, even among the Gaza public who is losing its patience and sees these ruins on the eve of the holiday [of Eid al-Fitr],” he said.

Over 650 targets belonging to Hamas have been struck since the beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls, such as those belonging to their police, Interior Ministry, banks, homes of commanders including that of the battalion commander of Khan Younis, a naval commando unit and a defensive tunnel inside a school.

Three high-rise buildings were also destroyed by Israel Air Force airstrikes and some 60 Hamas operatives have been killed, including 10 senior commanders.

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According to Zilberman, all options remain on the table and additional ground troops have been redeployed to the border ahead of a possible ground operation, including from the Paratroopers Brigade, Golani Infantry Brigade and 7th Armored Brigade.

On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the security cabinet that Israel officially rejected a Hamas proposal for a ceasefire and Kohavi held a call with General Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to update him on the operation.

Throughout the night, incoming-rocket sirens sounded throughout the country across the Center and South, as well as in northern Israel – as far as the Galilee region, a rare occurrence. According to Zilberman, those sirens were false alarms.

Several rockets made direct hits, including in Petah Tikva and Rishon Lezion where a part of a rocket landed inside a home; no one was injured.

Starting on Thursday morning, Ben-Gurion Airport began rerouting inbound flights to the Ramon International Airport in southern Israel. Departing flights will still leave from Ben-Gurion.

Israel’s security cabinet on Wednesday night approved Kohavi’s recommendation to escalate retaliatory airstrikes into the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Benny Gantz briefed members of the Knesset as the prime minister declared that Israel will not accept a ceasefire with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

An IDF soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile early Wednesday morning and a five-year-old boy was killed later in the day when a rocket scored a direct hit on his family’s apartment building in Sderot. More than 1,200 rockets have been fired into Israel since the fighting began on Monday.

A rocket barrage was launched toward central Israel on Wednesday evening and sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and throughout the South as Hamas launched the rockets to avenge the deaths of its top commanders by Israel earlier in the day.

The rockets either fell in open areas or were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. In Ashkelon though, one of the rockets scored a direct hit on a home, causing extensive damage to one of the bedrooms. A child had been sleeping there moments earlier and was whisked to safety when the sirens sounded.

Earlier in the day, IDF St.-Sgt. Omer Tabib was killed and three other soldiers were injured after a Hamas-fired Kornet ATGM hit his jeep near the Gaza border. The attack came after a night of intense rocket barrages toward the center of the country.

The jeep, belonging to the 931st Nahal battalion, was inside the Kibbutz of Netiv Ha’asara but was at a spot where it was exposed to the ATGM when it was struck.

Netanyahu said on Wednesday afternoon: “On behalf of all Israeli citizens, I express my deepest condolences and send my condolences to the family and friends of the IDF soldier, the late Staff-Sgt. Omer Tabib, a fighter in the Nahal Brigade who fell this morning from anti-tank fire during an operation to protect the Gaza Strip.

“I send my best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to another fighter and another officer who were injured in the attack.”

Shortly before the attack, the IDF warned residents of communities near Gaza to remain at home out of concern that Hamas might fire short-range mortars or ATGM’s, or carry out sniper attacks against civilians in the area.

Updated Home Front Command directives have been put in place from Wednesday at 6 p.m. until Friday at 2 p.m. In the Gaza border communities, the Western Negev, the Shfela region, Sharon and Yarkon, up to ten people will be allowed in open areas and 100 inside. It is permitted to work in places where there is an accessible rocket shelter; educational institutions will be closed.

In the rest of the country, gatherings will be permitted in accordance with the government’s instructions. Workplaces will be active without restrictions and classes will take place without restrictions.

Netanyahu commented on the recent string of assassinations in the Hamas General Staff, adding that “This is just the beginning. We will strikes them with blows they haven’t dreamed of.”

Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at Ashdod and Ashkelon on Wednesday afternoon following the strike against the top Hamas command, in which some six senior terrorists were killed. The incident came as the Israeli military continued to carry out waves of airstrikes targeting Hamas terrorists, including senior commanders.

More than 900 rockets crossed into Israeli territory after being launched from Gaza, and another 200 fell short, inside the Hamas-run coastal enclave. Several rockets have made direct hits on buildings and cars in Israel, killing seven Israelis since Monday.

Gantz stressed that the IDF will continue striking Gaza until it can bring a “complete and long-term peace,” during a visit to Ashkelon on Wednesday.

“In the last few hours, the IDF has carried out a series of significant attacks. We have attacked squads of commanders and significant Hamas infrastructure and we will continue to protect all residents of Israel,” said Gantz. “We have attacked many hundreds of targets, towers are falling, factories are collapsing, tunnels are being destroyed and commanders are assassinated. All the means and all the options are on the table and there is a lot more activity in the bank.”

“The IDF will continue to attack and bring a complete and long-term peace,” added Gantz. “Only when we achieve this goal can we talk about calm. There is currently no end date. We will not accept moral sermons from any organization or institution about our right and duty to protect Israeli citizens.”

Gantz decided on Wednesday afternoon to extend the special situation in the home front for an additional two weeks in light of the ongoing rocket attacks against Israel and plans to expand IDF strikes against the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military continued to execute waves of airstrikes against Hamas terrorists, including its senior commanders and their homes, as well as several high-rise buildings that housed infrastructure belonging to the terror group, such as military intelligence offices.

In response to the bombing of high-rise buildings in Gaza City, hundreds of rockets pounded Israel throughout Tuesday and Wednesday with sirens wailing throughout the center and south of the country, including in Tel Aviv and Beersheba. In one of the strikes, senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders were killed.

Palestinian media reported on Thursday that at least 69 people have been killed in the IDF strikes, including 17 children, and that more than 388 have been wounded. Israel says that some were killed by rockets that misfired and fell inside Gaza.