Israel sent tanks and troops into northern Gaza overnight, in the “biggest incursion” of the war with Hamas so far, according to the country’s military.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it carried out a brief ground raid to strike several military targets.
The attack was intended to “prepare the battlefield”, the IDF said, before a widely expected full-scale ground invasion of the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
The IDF published a video which it said shows the moment its forces moved into Gaza for the raid. In the footage, a row of tanks can be seen heading across the border, firing rockets.
Image: Israeli armoured vehicles heading into the Gaza Strip
Image: Buildings being struck by Israeli rockets
Israeli authorities said its weapons “struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts”.
Drone footage also posted by the IDF on X/Twitter appeared to show rockets striking targets and destroying buildings.
Ground forces of the Givati Brigade infantry as well as armoured vehicles, conducted the “relatively large” incursion in a “targeted raid” into northern Gaza.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side and all soldiers are said to have now left the area.
Israel’s Army Radio described it as the biggest incursion of the current war so far, which began when militants stormed through southern Israel on 7 October.
Israeli warplanes have also attacked over 250 Hamas targets in Gaza in the last 24 hours, a spokesperson said.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said operational headquarters and tunnel shafts were attacked, as well as rocket launchers that had been placed in civilian areas.
Why raid does not mean full ground invasion is imminent
Israel’s operation inside Gaza last night was an incursion, not an invasion. It was the largest ground operation inside the Strip during the war so far but was limited in scope.
Tanks and infantry crossed the border into northern Gaza and targeted Hamas infrastructure.
I’m told that the operation was somewhere between a battalion and a brigade in size, which is very non-specific, especially as those military units vary in structure, but I think we’re looking at somewhere around 1,000 soldiers. They have all left Gaza now.
Last night, speaking in Hebrew on Israeli prime time television, Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed a ground invasion will happen but said the timing and nature of it would be chosen by the war cabinet.
Incursions, like that last night, are not just useful for taking out Hamas positions, but they are valuable intelligence gathering operations to map out the ground, assess the resistance and scale the task ahead.
Beyond that, I don’t think we should necessarily assume that Israel is now on the eve of the large invasion it’s promised – it could really come at any day now.
Netanyahu has made it clear it will stay secret until then – but I wouldn’t be surprised if the IDF carries out more operations like it did last night so that when the green light is given, they are as prepared as possible.
‘All Hamas militants are doomed’
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said the country is “getting prepared” for a full ground invasion and that troops have already “eliminated thousands of terrorists”.
Speaking from Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, he said “all Hamas militants are doomed” and that people are working “around the clock” on Israel’s security.
But he refused to give details of the “considerations” of the ground offensive, saying they are not known by the public and that is “how it should be”.
During the televised address to the nation, Mr Netanyahu added: “I want to make it very clear, the timing of the operation of the IDF is unanimously determined by the cabinet that runs the war along with the chief of the general staff.
“We work in order to secure the best optimal conditions for their next operations.”
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6:20
The Israeli prime minister said troops have already ‘eliminated thousands of terrorists’
The prime minister called on Israelis to “not forget for one moment” those who have been killed in the Hamas attacks, saying there will be a national day of mourning set aside to remember the victims.
He added: “It is like shoving thousands of arrows into our heart, which is bleeding. My role is to lead this country and its people to all-out victory over our enemies. Together we shall fight and together we will win.”
He also urged people to evacuate to the south of Gaza.
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3:36
Gaza residents collecting bodies on donkey carts
Image: Israeli operation in the northern Gaza Strip. Pic: @IDF
Crisis deepens as IDF prepares to invade
Israel has now carried out more than two weeks of devastating air raids, as its troops amassed on the border.
Palestinian militants have also fired rocket barrages into Israel since the war began.
The Israeli military says it only strikes militant targets and accuses Hamas of operating among civilians in densely-populated Gaza.
But the ground incursion last night came after the United Nations (UN) warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory.
Gaza has been under siege since Hamas’s rampage across southern Israel on 7 October.
Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Wednesday that more than 750 people were killed over the previous 24 hours, higher than the 704 killed the day before.
The UN has reported this week that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the conflict began could exceed 5,000.
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Israel says around 1,400 people were killed during Hamas’s attacks and more than 200 people were taken hostage by the militant group.
Mr Netanyahu has said 7 October was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust in the Second World War. The Hamas raids have also been compared to the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States in 2001.
Even greater loss of life could come if Israel launches the long-anticipated full-scale ground offensive aimed at crushing Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and survived four previous wars with Israel.
US and other officials fear the current war could spill over into a wider regional conflict, dragging in Iran-backed militias in neighbouring Lebanon and Syria.
World leaders and the UN have called for ‘humanitarian corridors and pauses’ to the fighting to get aid in to help civilians.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.