Israel ramps up military activity along Gaza border as ground invasion looms

Heavy machine gun fire was heard along the Israel-Gaza border in the early hours of Friday, after the green light was given for a ground invasion.

Yoav Gallant, the?Israeli?defense minister, on Thursday visited troops positioned along the Gaza border, and?told them that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave ‘from inside’.

An infantry commander in the IDF told DailyMail.com on Thursday that they were ready to invade, adding there was ‘a very high level of optimism’ among his troops.

Israel’s leaders are determined to rid Gaza of its?Hamas?rulers, even if that means going house-to-house in an operation that could last ‘years’ and result in further major casualties among Palestinians.

They have refused to discuss plans for what will happen in Gaza after Hamas is toppled. President?Joe Biden, who was in Israel on Wednesday, asked about a post-Hamas Gaza, and was reportedly told that all resources were currently focused on the invasion, rather than the day after.

But several Israeli politicians have referenced creating an expanded demilitarized zone around the border.

In the early hours of Friday,?CNN‘s international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, reported seeing an increase of Israeli military activity around the Israel-Gaza border.

It comes hours after Gallant banged the drum of war in a briefing to Israeli troops massed on the border with Gaza, telling them to ‘annihilate’ Hamas and that they will soon see the enclave ‘from the inside’.

He told them: ‘Whoever sees Gaza from afar will soon see it from the inside. The command will come, I promise you.

‘There is no forgiveness for this thing. Only total annihilation of Hamas organization – terror infrastructures, everything that has to do with terrorists and whoever sent them.

‘It will take a week, it will take a month, it will take two months, until we annihilate them. You are not alone in battle. We trust you and count on you. Carry on training while there is time.’

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops are now positioned on the border for the imminent ground assault on the Gaza Strip, where 203 hostages are being held captive by Hamas terrorists.

It comes as Israel continued to pound Gaza with withering airstrikes today, as the millions of Palestinians trapped in the enclave desperately awaited a first delivery of international emergency aid.

In the nearly two weeks since Israel began its withering aerial bombardment in response to a devastating attack by Hamas terrorists that saw 1,300 people slaughtered, thousands of homes have been destroyed across the 25-mile enclave and 3,785 Palestinians killed, including 1,524 children.

On Thursday, the Israeli army said it had destroyed a missile launch site and tunnels, claiming ‘more than 10 terrorists were eliminated’.

Citing a deepening humanitarian crisis, the international community has urged Israel to minimise civilian casualties and allow desperately-needed aid to enter Gaza.

But inside Israel, the drumbeat of war has only grown louder.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, rallied troops near Gaza on Thursday, suggesting the invasion was imminent.?Decked in body armour, he vowed troops would ‘fight like lions’ and ‘win with full force’.

When asked about the military’s movements, IDF spokesman Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus told CNN that the military was ready, but would not announce their invasion in advance.

‘The reserves are ready, equipped, mission-oriented, and standing by for the next stage of our operations,’ said Conricus. ‘But at this time, of course, we will not advertise when, where, and how we will advance or do or enhance our military activities.’

Nir Barkat, Israel’s economy minister, confirmed that the invasion had been approved, and now it was up to the military to decide when to strike.

‘The Israeli government made a decision, gave a green light to the army to wipe them out and now it’s in the hands of the army,’ he said.

Troops were not expected to enter while foreign leaders were visiting.

Biden left Israel on Wednesday evening: Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, visited on Thursday morning, and then left for Saudi Arabia.

Biden addressed the American people from the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday night – only his second Oval Office address since becoming president.

He used his speech to explain why the Israeli war, and the Ukraine battle, were so crucial to the United States.

Biden also urged implementation of a deal he brokered with Israel and Egypt to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza from Friday.

‘The people of Gaza urgently need food, water and medicine,’ Biden said in a televised address from the Oval Office on his return from Tel Aviv.

But near Egypt’s border with Gaza, food, medicines, water purifiers and blankets have been piling up, with doubts growing that the Rafah crossing will open as planned.

‘We hope there will be a crossing tomorrow,’ World Health Organization (WHO) boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday.

‘But for sure, based on the experience we had the last few days, we are also at the same time worried whether this will happen.’

Meanwhile in Israel, one veteran IDF commander told DailyMail.com that his troops were ready to ‘wipe Hamas out’.

Eliezer, a major in the IDF who goes by Ezzy, and did not want to give his last name, is stationed in the south of Israel with the Golani Brigade – a group of reservists, often one of the first to be called up for active duty.

Ezzy signed up in 2004 and has served in the last four major wars in Israel, as an engineer, rabbi and commander.

His unit is designated to lead the forces of the Brigade – neutralizing mine fields, creating new pathways, capturing bridgeheads, and detonating explosives, he told DailyMail.com.

‘Without a question, this is different than any year,’ he said. ‘But morale is very high, very optimistic.’

Ezzy said the terror attacks of October 7 have galvanized his troops.

‘Obviously the first days we experienced the initial shock. Tons of mourning – but there wasn’t a lot of time to mourn,’ he said.

‘We didn’t know when we would go in, we thought we would go in to Gaza a lot earlier.’

Ezzy said there was a strong sense of purpose among the soldiers.

‘We are very close.

‘There’s a lot of brotherhood, and with time the spirit is going up – there’s a very high level of optimism.

‘I can’t remember Israel so united. More than ever I feel the support – we get messages.’

He said they appreciated international support for their war on Hamas.

‘I feel the world is united – it’s not just Jewish people, It’s anyone who understands there’s good and evil,’ he said.

‘They understand Israel is fighting for the good of this world – not just for Israel, but for light in this world.’

And he said his troops were ready to go in to Gaza.

‘The soldiers are trained – they want to go in,’ he said, adding that they were spending their days ‘sharpening our skills on the planning and physical level.’

‘They’re ready, but we take day by day,’ he added. We see every day that we don’t go in as a blessing because we can use it to train and to become better prepared.’ (Daily Mail)