Israel Defense Forces/Reuters.
Videos posted by the IDF show several tanks and armored vehicles, along with a bulldozer, moving near a road along the fence. The tanks fire cannons and several explosions can be heard in the video.
The IDF said the raid was “part of preparations for the next phase of combat.”
“The troops withdrew from the area at the end of the operation,” the statement said.
IDF spokesman Peter Lerner described the raid as significant but limited in scope, saying it was “a clean-up operation to create better conditions for ground operations when they are launched.”
Sharing with CNN, Mr. Peter Lerner said: "We had a plan to attack the enemy, to destroy the terrorist elements that were planning to attack with anti-tank guided missiles."
Israel has pledged to completely destroy Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, in response to the group's October 7 attack that left 1,400 people (mostly civilians) dead and more than 200 hostages.
In a televised address on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel is “preparing for a ground invasion” of Gaza after nearly three weeks of airstrikes on the coastal strip.
Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 6,400 people and injured 17,000 others, according to information from the Hamas-run health agency in Gaza and posted by the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah.
Clashes between Israel and Hamas militants have broken out in several locations in Gaza. An Israeli soldier was killed in a confrontation with Hamas on Sunday, the first official Israeli casualty in the enclave since October 7.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to CNN)
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