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On the evening of October 27, the Israel Defense Forces announced the expansion of ground military operations in the Gaza Strip. The territory of the Gaza Strip is currently subjected to one of the most massive bombardments by Israel since the beginning of the escalation. Communication systems and the Internet were cut off in the region. The Israeli army is launching strikes from the air, ground and from the sea.
A number of Israeli resources, citing sources in the IDF, report the beginning of a ground operation in Gaza. The others clarified that this is not the full-scaled invasion yet.
Tel Aviv likely announced “the expansion of the ground operations” in an attempt to avoid officially declaring the beginning of the previously announced invasion. The scale of the ongoing ground operations is yet to be revealed. In the recent days, Israeli forces have already entered the territory of the Gaza Strip but their actions were very limited.
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Groups in Gaza have announced the mobilization of their forces. Hamas has declared its readiness to resist the ground operation of the Israeli military.
Israeli tanks reportedly entered the eastern part of the settlement of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip. Shooting was reported at all checkpoints near the city of Nablus. The military wing of Hamas said it was repelling an Israeli ground invasion in the eastern part of the Al-Bureij camp in the Gaza Strip. According to preliminary reports, the IDF have already suffered losses among personnel and armored vehicles.
Palestinian sources report that US special forces are taking part in the Israeli ground operation.
Earlier in the evening, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad reported rocket attacks on the Israeli cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod and Sderot. The Hamas military wing announced the shelling of the Israeli capital Tel Aviv.
The strikes on Gaza continue. The situation in enclave is catastrophic. The Gaza Strip is completely cut off from the outside world, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society claimed. The Red Cross reports that it has lost contact with all its employees stationed in Gaza. The World Health Organization has also lost contact with its staff in the Gaza Strip. Contact with The Washington Post correspondents was lost.
Amid the rapid escalation and loss of communication with the region, there are a lot of reports that may turn to be rumors.
Fighting also reportedly began on the border of the Tulkarm district of the West Bank. Israel used drones to drop tear gas shells to disperse protests in the area of Hebron in the West Bank.
Lebanese Hezbollah reportedly crossed the border and is conducting local offensives in the north of Israel. The Israeli Air Force has entered Lebanese airspace and are launching strikes on Hezbollah. Hezbollah channels reported missile launches from the Golan Heights towards the IDF. Syria reportedly struck at the positions of the Israeli army.
Explosions were reported at the US military base at the Omar oil field in the province of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.
Egypt has raised its aircraft to patrol the airspace and they are ready to respond to any for provocation or attack in the Red Sea. The Egyptian military was put on full alert near the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba.
The Egyptian military reported the fall of two drones near the resort town of Taba in the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli military blamed the Yemeni Houthi forces for their launch. According to unconfirmed reports, hundreds of rockets and kamikaze drones have been launched from Yemen towards Israel.
The situation is rapidly escalating, and various preliminary reports are coming from the region that do not show the scale of Israeli operations and the risks of the battles escalating into a larger regional war. The one thing is clear, the night of October 27 will bring horrific casualties and bloodshed, mostly for civilians in the Gaza Strip.
