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NIGHT ATTACK
Israel launches second night raid on Gaza with tanks, drones & attack helicopters ahead of looming invasion
Yesterday, Israel warned it was 'preparing the battlefield' as they are ready for the 'next stage of war'
ISRAEL launched its second "targeted" nighttime raid into besieged Gaza as it prepares for a full-scale ground invasion.
Columns of tanks backed by fighter jets, helicopters and drones smashed through border defences, wiping out Hamas terror targets and infrastructure, the IDF claimed.
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The hours-long raid took place near the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City as drones and combat helicopters swarmed overhead.
Israel's military said: "During the last day, IDF ground forces, accompanied by IDF fighter jets and UAVs, conducted an additional targeted raid in the central Gaza Strip,".
"The IDF identified and struck numerous terror targets, including anti-tank missile launch sites, military command and control centres, as well as Hamas terrorists," it said.
Black-and-white footage released by the military showed a column of armoured vehicles as a thick cloud of dust billowed into the sky after the strikes.
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The army conducted a similar ground operation using tanks and infantry the previous night in the northern part of the Palestinian territory.
The latest incursions came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated earlier this week that Israel was "preparing for a ground offensive" and claimed his military had already "eliminated thousands of terrorists".
On Wednesday night, a swarm of Israeli tanks stormed into northern Gaza as Netanyahu promised to soon "extract the full price from those murders".
The IDF said yesterday that tanks, troops and bulldozers had wiped out "numerous" Hamas terrorist cells during their overnight "targeted raid".
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The footage showed Israel's bulldozers clearing the way for armoured vehicles to cross the border before a huge column of tanks rolled down a road.
Tanks can then be seen firing on several targets "in preparation for the next stages of combat".
It follows with a huge plume of smoke pouring into the night sky as Israeli troops blast a target near a built-up area.
Israel's Army Radio said it was the biggest incursion in the conflict so far - and last night's raid looked to be just as large and daring.
Last night, Israel claimed to have wiped out a top Hamas terror commander who plotted the October 7 massacres, Shadi Barud.
The IDF have since released dramatic footage of the airstrike, which shows at least two bombs exploding, decimating at least four buildings.
Meanwhile, US fighter jets early today struck two Iran-backed militia bases in Syria in revenge for a spate of drone and missile attacks on American troops.
The Pentagon revealed the escalation amid intense fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could spiral into an all-out war across the Middle East.
According to senior US military officials, the "precision" air strikes were carried out near Boukamal in eastern Syria by two F-16 fighter jets.
They struck weapons and ammunition depots that were connected to the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and have been recently used to strike US bases.
The strikes were reportedly intended to show Iran-backed militant groups the US would retaliate as strongly as possible to deter future aggression.
On Thursday, a US base in Syria was attacked for the second time in two days, while a base in western Iraq was also hit.
Since October 17, there have been at least 19 assaults on US bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria using drones and missiles, according to the Pentagon.
Tensions in the Middle East have soared since Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorists unleashed hell on October 7, slaughtering 1,400 Israelis and kidnapping hundreds more.
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In retaliatory Israeli air and artillery strikes, at least 7,028 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including 2,913 children, according to figures released by the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
The airstrikes have flattened entire neighbourhoods, causing a level of death and destruction unseen in the last four wars between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier this week, US officials reportedly told Israel to hold off on their expected full-scale ground invasion into Gaza until the US can deliver a dozen advanced air defence systems to the region to protect their troops.
They believe their bases in the Middle East could be targeted by Hamas and other terror groups once Israel invades the Gaza Strip.
The embattled nation has already massed tanks, called up over 360,000 troops, and evacuated its own civilians from the border areas.
Officials are also desperately trying to free some 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
It's feared many of the captives are hidden deep inside Hamas's mysterious 311-mile maze of underground tunnels that freed hostage Yocheved Lifshitz described as a "spider web".
Hidden up to 100ft below the surface, the intricate city of passages is full of dark twists and turns, laden with traps and heavily reinforced with concrete.
Soldiers will be ordered into the hellish rat-runs and military experts fear a bloodbath awaits them.
But they have a new "secret weapon" - a chemical creation that explodes foam to seal off openings inside Gaza's "terror metro" - called a "sponge bomb".
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The US is said to be fearful that the IDF is not yet ready to take on Hamas in their underground hellish labyrinth of tunnels.
And yet, Netanyahu has appeared to defy their request as he vows to push ahead with the invasion soon, telling troops "we will win with all our might".
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