Israel-Hamas war: Gaza ground raid ‘biggest incursion’ of conflict so far, as IDF ‘prepares battlefield’
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.
Israel-Hamas war latest: Live updates after Gaza raid
Israeli armoured vehicles heading into the Gaza Strip
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.
‘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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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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Gaza residents collecting bodies on donkey carts
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.
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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.
Footage showed tanks targeting Hamas positions. Pic: @IDF
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.
World
Up to a million Palestinians could be ‘permanently relocated’ to war-torn Libya under US plans
Up to a million Palestinians could be permanently relocated from devastated Gaza to war-torn Libya under plans being worked on by Donald Trump’s administration, NBC News reports.
The idea has been discussed with Libya’s leadership, sources told Sky’s US partner network, and would potentially see billions of dollars in frozen Libyan funds released.
The North African country remains divided in two – nearly 14 years after the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi sparked a civil war – with two rival governments fighting for control.
It comes as Israel continues a campaign of airstrikes on Gaza, with 93 people killed and hundreds injured on Friday, according to local medics.
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Sky’s team saw bodies arrive at Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital
No final agreement on any Libya plans have been reached, sources told NBC News, and US government agencies did not respond to requests for comment from the news outlet.
Previous suggestions to resettle Palestinians from Gaza – voluntarily or otherwise – have provoked international outcry, particularly from Arab states who likely will play a role in rebuilding the enclave after any permanent ceasefire deal.
And Libya is far from a safe nation, according to the US State Department’s own travel advice, which says Americans should not travel to the country “due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict”.
President Trump, speaking on the final day of his Middle East trip, said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza.
“We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are – there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
An Israeli tank nears the border with Gaza. Pic: Reuters
There had been hopes that his tour of the region could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or prompt Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza that is preventing humanitarian aid from getting in.
But instead Israel has continued to launch airstrikes on the territory, killing more than 250 people in the last two days, according to Hamas-run health authorities.
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The Israeli military, which had dropped leaflets on the northern town of Beit Lahia ordering residents to leave, said their airforce had struck more than 150 military targets across Gaza in recent days.
This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.
Israeli officials said the latest strikes were a prelude to a larger military campaign in Gaza aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages.
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Trump wraps up Middle East tour
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Ahmed Abu Riziq, founder of the Gaza Great Minds Foundation, which seeks to give children access to education in Gaza, said “the hell doors opened” in the last few days.
Speaking to Sky News from Gaza City, he said: “Myself with my family, we had to flee today from some certain areas in northern Gaza City… people are running in the streets. They don’t know where to go or where to sleep at night. So it’s really catastrophic.”
“No food is entering Gaza,” he added, saying that people are dying from hunger.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this month that Israel plans to seize all of Gaza and hold it indefinitely.
Tom Fletcher, head of the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, warned the Security Council this week it must “act now” to “prevent genocide” – a claim Israel vehemently denies.
Russia and Ukraine failed to agree to a ceasefire in their first direct talks since 2022 – as European leaders called Moscow’s approach “unacceptable” after the discussions lasted less than two hours and Vladimir Putin stayed away.
The meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, was set up at short notice on President Putin‘s behest, but he declined a challenge from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet him in person and instead sent relatively junior representatives.
A source in the Ukrainian team told Sky News that Russia had threatened “eternal war” during the talks.
They said the Russians were not ready to talk about technical details of a ceasefire and were waiting for superiors to approve them.
Latest updates on Istanbul talks
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan chairs a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul. Pic: Reuters
Both countries said they had agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war each in what would be the biggest such exchange yet of the conflict.
But Kyiv wants the West to impose tighter sanctions unless Moscow accepts a proposal from Donald Trump for a 30-day ceasefire.
President Zelenskyy said after the meeting that he had spoken to Mr Trump by phone – alongside Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland – who all met in Albania on Friday.
In a post on X, he said Ukraine was “ready to take the fastest possible steps to bring real peace” and that “tough sanctions must follow” if Russia continues to resist a month-long truce.
The Ukrainian delegation. Pic: Reuters
The Russian delegation. Pic: Reuters
Frustration over Russia‘s perceived stalling in holding serious negotiations was also clear from the European leaders gathered in Tirana.
“The Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time,” said Sir Keir.
“So as a result of that meeting with President Zelenskyy and that call with President Trump we are now closely aligning our responses and will continue to do so.”
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Don’t get your hopes up of talks Trump-Putin talks anytime soon
The talks were held in Dolmabache Palace in Istanbul. Pic: AP
The UK prime minister said the no-show by Russia’s leader was “more evidence that Putin is not serious about peace” and has “been dragging his heels”.
NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte, who was also in Albania, said President Putin had made a “big mistake” by sending low-level delegates to Istanbul.
A list of representatives ahead of the meeting listed presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Galuzin Mikhail Yuryevich and deputy defence chief Alexander Fomin.
Ukraine’s delegation was led by defence minister Rustem Umerov.
President Zelenskyy had called the Russian team “a theatre prop” ahead of the summit in the Dolmabahce Palace.
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Ukrainian ‘despair’ over missing civilians
However, Turkey’s foreign minister heralded it as “an important day for world peace” and said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to swap 1,000 POWs each as a “confidence-building measure”.
Hakan Fidan shared a picture of the delegations and said they had “agreed to share with the other side in writing the conditions that would make it possible to reach a ceasefire”.
Russia’s Vladimir Medinsky said his team had “taken note” of the Ukrainian request for direct talks between Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy.
“We have agreed that each side will present its vision of a possible future ceasefire and spell it out in detail,” said Mr Medinsky.
Hopes ahead of the meeting were low after Mr Trump and his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, played down the prospect of meaningful progress.
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Trump on meeting Putin: ‘As soon as we can set it up’
The US president told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together”, while Mr Rubio said a “breakthrough” was unlikely until the US and Russian presidents meet.
No date for such a meeting has been proposed, but Mr Trump has said it will happen “as soon as we can set it up”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that top-level talks were “certainly needed” but arranging it would take time.
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Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was a notable absentee, despite attending Ukraine-focused talks with the US in Saudi Arabia in February.
Russia has so far failed to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire – proposed by European leaders who have threatened Moscow with “massive” sanctions if it doesn’t sign up. The US also supports the plan.
The Kremlin has ambitions to keep swathes of Ukrainian land as part of any long-term truce, an idea that Kyiv firmly rejects.
Russia also wants an end to Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and a promise it will stay neutral.
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