The Israeli offensive in Gaza has continued to expand — slowly, acre by acre, building by building, tunnel by tunnel.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that it was using a combined, ground, air, and sea assault to identify terrorist targets and eliminate them.
כוחות צה"ל ממשיכים בשעות האחרונות בפעילות הקרקעית ברצועת עזה.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 30, 2023
בהיתקלויות עם מחבלים, לוחמי צה"ל בסיוע כלי מסוקי קרב וכלי טיס מאויישים מרחוק שהכוונו על ידי הכוחות, חיסלו חוליות שניסו לפגוע בכוחות. הלוחמים גם השמידו תשתיות טרור ביניהן עמדות נ"ט ועמדות שיגור נוספות>> pic.twitter.com/LyUFMTPLS8
כוחות צה"ל ממשיכים בהרחבת הפעילות הקרקעית ברצועת עזה; במהלך הלילה חיסלו הכוחות מחבלי חמאס והשמידו תשתיות טרור ומתחמים צבאיים.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 30, 2023
צה"ל המשיך במהלך הלילה בהרחבת הפעילות הקרקעית ברצועת עזה >> pic.twitter.com/kl2FfAvhxl
A statement from Israel’s Government Press Office said:
Overnight, the IDF continued ground operations in the Gaza Strip.
During clashes with terrorists in the Gaza Strip, IDF troops killed dozens of terrorists who barricaded themselves in buildings and tunnels, and attempted to attack the troops.
In one incident, an IDF aircraft guided by IDF ground troops struck a staging post inside a building belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, with over 20 Hamas terrorist operatives inside it.
In addition, over the last few days, the IDF struck over 600 terror targets, including weapons depots, dozens of anti-tank missile launching positions, as well as hideouts and staging grounds used by the Hamas terrorist organization.
Overnight, IDF troops identified armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching post in the area of the Al-Azhar University, and guided a fighter jet to strike them.
Israel has suffered very few casualties as a result. One Israeli soldier was killed on the northern border in a tank accident, an a police officer was injured in Jerusalem in a stabbing attack by a Palestinian terrorist.
Israel is moving slowly in Gaza to minimize the risk to its soldiers, to Palestinian civilians, and to the 239 hostages known to be held captive in the territory.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.