Late on 15 September, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a ground operation to capture the city of Gaza, aimed at defeating the terrorist group Hamas, according to The Jerusalem Post and Axios.
According to a senior IDF official, ground forces have already entered the city and will be joined by additional forces in the coming days. The Israeli army is focused on capturing the northern part of Gaza, Al Jazeera reports. In the meantime, no official confirmation has been made of this information by the IDF.
Ahead of the operation, the Israeli armed forces intensified the airstrikes in Gaza, destroying skyscrapers which, according to the Israeli authorities, were used by the Hamas militants for military objectives. In the evening of 15 September, the large-scale airstrikes were supplemented by the deployment of tanks in the city.
According to Axios, the operation began a few hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to two Israeli officials, Rubio assured Netanyahu that the Donald Trump administration supports the ground offensive but insists on its swift and effective implementation.
Amid reports of the start of the operation, the families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza set up a protest camp outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, demanding action to rescue their loved ones.
