Israel-Hamas war: As pressure mounts on Israel from both sides – from western allies to delay the ground assault and from within the country to go ahead with it – the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Thursday said that it briefly sent tanks and troops into northern Gaza in an “overnight targeted raid”. The raid was carried out in northern part of the Gaza Strip. The IDF said its infantry forces and battle tanks struck a number of terrorists, infrastructure and anti-tank guided missile launch positions during the raid.
10 points on IDF’s latest raid into Gaza
- “IDF forces under the command of the Givati Brigade tonight carried out a targeted raid using tanks in the territory of the northern Gaza Strip, as part of the preparation of the area for the next stages of combat..,” the IDF said.
- The development comes in the backdrop of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remark that the war cabinet of the country’s national unity government has unanimously decided to carry out a ground assault in Gaza to destroy Hamas’s militant and governance capabilities.
- The IDF said that the overnight raid was part of its ground assault plans and aimed at preparing the border area for the “next stages of the war”. The troops and tanks returned to the Israeli side of the border after their limited raid.
- This comes amid mounting pressure on Israel from western allies and other world bodies to delay its planned full-scale assault.
- While the US and other western countries urged Israel to delay the assault in order to secure more hostage releases, the world bodies like the UN and WHO have been calling for ceasefire in view of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
- The Israeli government is also facing intense pressure from within the country to go for an all-out war. There have been numerous demands from Israelis to end Hamas once and for all.
- Family members of the hostages are also urging the government to get their loved one back home safely.
- There are also fears the war could escalate and spiral into a much bigger regional conflict following Iran’s warning and Hezbollah’s continuous attacks on the northern border.
- Iran-backed Hezbollah has pledged its support to the Palestinian militants. The Lebanese militant organization has been attacking Israeli posts ever since the war against Hamas broke out.
- The public support across the countries is also fragile and may shift towards the Palestinians as more and more images of Gaza emerges. The IDF has asserted that the ground invasion should be launched sooner than later to achieve its goals.
