The Israeli military, after days of performing relentless airstrikes on the northern Gaza Strip, conducted local raids in the region on Friday to search for hostages that were taken by Hamas militants.
An estimated 150 people have been taken by Hamas in recent days.
While taking out targets, the Israel Defense Forces also collected evidence in Gaza to locate more people in the hands of Hamas, CNN reported. This is the first time since the Saturday attack that ground troops have operated inside Gaza, the IDF said in a statement.
The limited raids, which were carried out by infantry and tanks, are expected to be followed by an all out ground invasion.
The latest development comes after Israel ordered an evacuation of Gaza early Friday morning, forcing about 1.1 million Palestinian citizens to leave their homes and migrate south below the Wadi Gaza river within 24 hours. Once the deadline is up, it’s expected Israeli forces will invade the region on foot.
EXCLUSIVE: Operational update by IDF Spokesperson @jconricus as the war against Hamas continues. https://t.co/MFAOiCSssH
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2023
Apart from the statement on X, the IDF reportedly contacted Palestinians through phone calls and text messages to warn them of the mass evacuation. Gaza has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters put in place. Hamas, meanwhile, has ordered civilians to ignore the evacuation order and stay in their homes.
The IDF has called up a record of 360,000 reservists since Hamas’s surprise attack on Saturday, tens of thousands of whom have already massed on the Israel-Gaza border.
During the small raids, the Israeli military revealed it “thwarted terrorist cells and infrastructure located in the area, including a Hamas cell that fired anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory.” The Jewish nation’s forces have also continued airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza since the raids.
As of Friday, the Palestinian death toll had surpassed 1,500 while Israeli fatalities totaled more than 1,300. Of those, at least 27 victims have been identified as American citizens. Thousands more on both sides were wounded.