Gaza, Palestine – Israel began the main phase of a ground operation to seize control of Gaza City on Tuesday.
In this operation, it relied on air and sea fire preparation and used booby-trapped robots before two army divisions entered the city on the ground to maneuver inside the city.
On Tuesday morning, Israeli gunboats opened fire northwest of Gaza City.
While warplanes paved the way for the operation with 850 raids on Gaza City during the past week.
The Israeli Kan channel said, “Last night and Tuesday morning, the army introduced booby-trapped robots to the outskirts of Gaza City with the aim of destroying buildings and infrastructure to facilitate the incursion of more forces”.
Israeli Army Radio also reported the launch of the next phase of Operation Gideon Vehicles 2, with two divisions beginning to maneuver toward downtown Gaza City.
The Israeli army said in a statement: “Over the past day, Israeli army forces in the Southern Command of the 98th, 162nd and 36th Divisions, whether in compulsory or reserve service, began expanded ground operations in Gaza City as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots 2”.
He added: “The Gaza Division operates in the security zone along the border facing the western Negev communities, and in the Rafah and Khan Yunis areas”.
He noted that “the 99th Division operates in the northern Gaza Strip”.
He continued: “Over the past week, the Israeli Air Force attacked more than 850 terrorist targets and hundreds of terrorists in Gaza City with the aim of destroying Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure and preparing the region for the deployment of forces”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on Tuesday, “Gaza is burning and our army is bombing terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist”.
Katz explained in a tweet on the X website: “We will not back down until the mission ends with the defeat of Hamas and the release of the hostages”.
