After over two months of fighting, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched over 250 airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip yesterday.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have begun encircling cities in the southern section of Gaza, after weeks of nonstop bombardment left the northern part reduced to ruins. After over two months of fighting, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched over 250 airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip yesterday.
In the 365 square kilometres of territory, the Israeli ground troops are engaged in ground operations with the assistance of the air force’s Close Air Support (CAS) and Merkava IV tanks for attack. A video of the IDF’s ground and aerial assault in Gaza was made public. It showed how the troops are carrying out their duties, confiscating weapons, and eliminating Hamas operatives’ hideouts.
The Urban War in Gaza
The IDF claimed that the launcher was used to fire a flurry of missiles into Israel’s territory yesterday and destroyed two rocket launch pads in the Gaza Strip with an aerial assault. The launcher is struck by rockets in the aerial thermal film, and then there is a huge explosion. The IDF released another video showing airstrikes on “Hamas terror cells” in the Gaza Strip. Israel claimed that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives were killed in the airstrikes over Deir al-Balah. The goal of the airstrikes was to destroy the infrastructure of Hamas, which includes the intricate network of tunnels used by Hamas agents to operate from hidden locations throughout the Gaza Strip. While the ground attack is underway, the air force is offering close support to the troops and the armour divisions. In Gaza’s cramped lanes, multiple Merkava tanks with “cope-cages”—metal canopies shielding tanks from drone strikes—are in service. How susceptible tank turrets are to drone and Molotov attacks has been demonstrated by the Russia-Ukraine war. The “cope-cage” serves as a line of defence but is not infallible.
Israeli ground forces and armoured units face formidable obstacles when fighting in “built-up areas,” or areas densely populated with buildings and other structures. This type of combat is known as lethal urban warfare. Already-displaced Palestinians were forced to gather up and leave again after Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and bulldozers were spotted on Tuesday close to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to AFP.
The ground forces operate in Gaza’s tiny alleyways and engage in close-quarters warfare with the operatives there, while the tanks support the infantry’s movement. An IDF-shared video appears to show the troops fighting with guns in the streets of Gaza. Light machine guns (LMGs) and assault rifles (AR) equipped with holographic scopes are utilised in ground operations.
The ground troops are on a street in Gaza surrounded by destroyed houses that once sheltered the civilian population of the city. The soldiers are charging in with their Assault Rifles and enter the building through a big hole in the wall. Two soldiers, one holding an LMG and the other an AR open fire. A section of soldiers, with helmet-mounted cameras, barge into a building.
Drones are being used by the ground forces to track the movements of Hamas operatives; the intelligence gathered is then sent to the air force in order to launch airstrikes. In the meantime, the area is being bombarded by tanks and self-propelled artillery to provide cover for the ground forces and soften IDF-marked targets.
The IDF has made claims in multiple films that Hamas has concealed weapons in mosques, schools, and hospitals. Israel attacked a “armed terror cell” that was working close to a school in northern Gaza as well as another shaft that was close to the school. In a video published, the IDF claimed that firearms and ammunition had been found at the site. An Israeli soldier finds a wire in a classroom that has been reduced to rubble after an attack; the wire is likely intended to set off bombs.
Following the expiration of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas last week, the activities restarted.
