The IDF is already fighting in the town of Beit Lahiya (in the northern Gaza Strip), moving deeper into Gaza City. Several brigade combat teams have already been deployed to the Strip, mostly from the IDF’s regular infantry and armored brigades, apparently better prepared than the reserve brigades. The task of the reservist units, on the other hand, will be to reinforce and support the regular units as the military campaign expands and the warfare continues.
The Defense Ministry announced today that, because of the increased efforts of the defense industry, it was able to provide the IDF with dozens of new armored vehicles — tanks, Namer APCs ( heavy infantry armored personnel carriers on chassis of “Merkava”) and Eitan APCs (which are currently used mainly by the regular infantry brigade “Nahal”).
Presumably, in addition to infantry and armored brigades, the IDF also has elite units deep inside the Strip — Sayeret Matkal (a special unit of the Intelligence Directorate of the IDF General Staff), Shaldag (a special unit of the IDF Air Force), and other commando units. These units are trained to operate in difficult conditions, in small groups, to provide commanders with important intelligence, to attack independently, or to conduct precision air strikes.
Enemy media reports that IDF tanks are advancing toward Gaza City from both the northwest and south, fighting as they go.
There are reports of few face-to-face clashes between our ground units and the enemy. The IDF is using serious air and ground firepower to destroy Hamas terrorist cells hiding in the built-up area.
At noon, it was reported that soldiers attacked a Hamas outpost in the northern Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists, destroying anti-tank units, their launching positions and observation posts.
The main concern has been over the tunnel system. As we know, there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, and they have many exit shafts that terrorists use to get out, shoot or fire an anti-tank missile, and then hide in the tunnel again.
Countering this Hamas infrastructure is an extremely difficult task. The IDF has been preparing for this challenge for all of the past years, and to combat it, the IDF is employing special units of the engineering forces, using a variety of advanced tools to detect and neutralize the tunnels.
Presumably, the built-up area is densely mined, so these areas are heavily shelled from the air before launching our units through the streets and alleys. Additionally, there is support from artillery batteries and Romah precision missile systems. There have also been bombardments from the sea by Israeli navy missile boats armed with many different types of missile systems and artillery pieces.
There has also been a constant barrage of air strikes on the Strip. Over the past 24 hours, hundreds of terrorist targets have been destroyed, including tunnel shafts, anti-tank and rocket positions and many other facilities.