Israeli tanks conduct overnight 'targeted raid' in northern Gaza during brief incursion

Israel launched a brief incursion into Gaza with tanks taking part in a "targeted raid" overnight in the northern part, the army said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 26). This comes amid Israel's preparation for a ground invasion.

"Overnight, the IDF conducted a targeted raid using tanks in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of preparations for the next stages of combat," the army said, further adding that "the soldiers exited the area at the end of the activity".

In a televised statement late Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that they were "preparing for a ground offensive", besides the heavy bombing campaign of Hamas-controlled Gaza.

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Netanyahu said the decision on when forces would go into the Palestinian enclave would be taken by the government's special war cabinet, which includes the leader of one of the centrist opposition parties.

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Netanyahu said, "We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning". He added, "Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be."

The Israel-Palestine conflict escalated after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct 7, killing more than 1,400 people, as per Israeli officials.

Israel waged war, calling it retaliatory actions, which has killed more than 6,500 Gazans, as per the figures released by the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the territory.

The Israeli military said that during the overnight raid, "soldiers located and struck numerous terrorists, terror infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts, and operated to prepare the battlefield".

A spokesman for the military confirmed to the news agency AFP that this was not the first time Israeli soldiers and tanks had entered Gaza for limited incursions since Oct 7.

Netanyahu, who has so far not taken responsibility for the security failures that led to the Hamas attack, said all involved would be called to account.

He said, "The scandal will be fully investigated. Everyone will have to give answers, me too. But all this will happen only after the war."

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.