In Tel Aviv, Sarah Coates (no relation)
for Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia, reports October 12/13, here and below an Israeli ground offensive against Gaza looks “imminent" as Israeli troops continue to mass on the Gaza border. Both sides
are potentially preparing for a very long conflict.
Comment
The incursion might be led by a sudden increase in Israeli air strikes, artillery and MLRS "shelling", "Kamikaze" drone and missile strikes on Hamas positions. Then Israeli Merkava tanks (which can each carry 6 infantry inside) and Namer armoured personnel carriers will pour into Gaza.
It is unknown whether Hamas has laid anti-tank, anti-personnel mines or IEDs near the border.
About 3 hours after I published the above article comes: "Israeli military says troops have made their first ground raids into Gaza" of October 13, 2023 at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-13/israeli-defence-minister-says-gaza-war-is-existential-for-israel/102975006
ReplyDelete"Israeli ground forces have made raids into Gaza over the past 24 hours, the military says, ahead of an expected ground offensive on the densely populated Palestinian territory.
This is the first announcement of a shift from an air war to ground operations to root out Hamas militants, a week after their deadly rampage in southern Israel.
"Over the past 24 hours, IDF [Israeli military] forces carried out localised raids inside the territory of the Gaza Strip to complete the effort to cleanse the area of terrorists and weaponry," an army statement said.
"During these operations, there was also an effort to locate missing persons."
The Hamas terrorists abducted an estimated 150 Israelis and foreigners.
The Israeli army said troops "collected evidence that would assist in the effort to locate hostages" during the raids into Gaza, without providing further details.
"Soldiers thwarted terrorist cells and infrastructure located in the area, including a Hamas cell that fired anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory," the statement added..."