IDF Gears Up for Ground Invasion in Gaza, Aims to Defeat Hamas

IDF artillery soldiers prepare around their armoured vehicles in Netivot, Israel, on Oct. 10, 2023. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Israel is staging grounds in preparation for a potential ground invasion in the Gaza territory, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Col. Peter Lerner. The ground invasion into Gaza is said to be the first such Israeli operation into the territory since the last conflict in 2014.

He told ABC’s “This Week” that reservists are stationed in preparation for any such government directive, and that these reservists are both for the southern front, on the border with Gaza, as well as spread across communities and on the northern border with Lebanon in anticipation of increased tensions with Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Iran-backed terrorist organisation. The latest update from the IDF said that 350,000 reservists have now been gathered.

Most recently, clashes between Israel and Islamic militants have escalated along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, coinciding with ongoing strikes in Gaza ahead of Israel’s announced and imminent ground invasion. A number of Grad-type rockets were fired from Syria into Israel, which the IDF attribute to Hezbollah, which currently holds significant sway in the Lebanese government.

Israel said it will hold Lebanon accountable for any activities emanating from within its borders. Over the weekend, Israeli forces have launched retaliatory strikes at Lebanon-based militants, including Hezbollah operations, after the groups launched attacks on Israeli territory.

Israel’s reservists have been sent to assist at the IDF’s Forward Logistics Centers to support combat units on the front, and facilitate the ongoing resupply of weapons and supplies, the Israeli military said in a briefing on Sunday.

Mr. Lerner also told “This Week” that, “We did not ask for this war, but we will win it.”

He stated that the IDF is currently striking at Hamas in its entirety—from its top leadership, including Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar- who is said to be the mastermind behind the attack that started from Oct. 7, through its institutions, all the way down to the individuals that conducted the “butchering of our babies.”

Mr. Lerner also said the IDF had killed Hamas commander Bilal al Kedra, the leader of the so-called Nukhba unit’s southern Khan Younis battalion, in a recent strike. He was a the Hamas leader directly responsible for the terror attack on Oct. 7 in Kibbutz Nirim.

Gaza Evacuation

The IDF has instructed residents in northern Gaza to move south for their safety. Mr. Lerner said the evacuation warnings are part of Israel’s humanitarian efforts aimed at protecting Palestinian civilians from harm ahead of its all-out military offensive against Hamas to take out the terror threat facing Israel.

Mr. Lerner also said that Hamas has attempted to hinder Palestinians evacuating south by setting up checkpoints and spreading messages for Palestinians to ignore the IDF’s warnings. This reveals “how Hamas is actually trying to put the people of Gaza at more risk. You know, they have no regard for human life, Israel or Palestinian,” he said.

On Sunday, the IDF issued a public notice and urged residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza to relocate to the southern area for their safety, and also shared a map of evacuation corridor for the people. They also specified a safe window from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for movement, assuring that no IDF operations would take place during this time. In its public notice, the IDF emphasized the importance of following these instructions concerning civilian safety in the region. In a separate post, the IDF clarified, that “the world needs to know: we are at war with Hamas, not the people of Gaza.”

Offensive Mode

The preparedness is part of Israel’s continuing efforts to defend its citizens now and in the future against Hamas’s terrorist attacks after the Iran-backed Islamist group surprised the world with its brutality on Oct. 7. An announcement by the IDF on Saturday explained Israel’s war strategy as “offensive plan” that will be coordinated from air, sea, and land.

At the first cabinet meeting of Israel’s new national emergency government in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Hamas thought that we would come apart—we will dismantle Hamas.”

People standing on a rooftop watch as Israel strikes the "Palestine Tower building,” which the IDF says was used by a number of Hamas units, including intelligence, weapon production, and offices of senior members, in Gaza City on Oct. 7, 2023. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

Located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza is a densely populated Palestinian enclave under the control of Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

The IDF said on Sunday that since Oct. 7, more than 1,300 Israelis have been killed, including at least 279 fallen soldiers, and at least 120 individuals still being help captive as hostages by Hamas in Gaza. More than 6,000 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza.

On the Palestinian side, Gaza’s Hamas-backed Health Ministry has reported 2,450 Palestinians killed, with 9,200 injured. Hamas has not differentiated its soldiers from its civilians.

Hamas’s attacks are the worst acts of terror in the region since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

President Joe Biden has expressed his support for Israel and its fight against terrorism.