The Israel Defense Forces are preparing a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to take the fight directly to Hamas following days of terror attacks that have killed at least 1,200 Israelis, according to reports.
Militants with the Islamist group crossed into Israeli territory on Saturday morning following a barrage of thousands of rockets, mowing down and kidnapping civilians in the worst attack against Israel in decades.
Israel, which quickly declared war, has spent four days striking targets inside Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.
Now, the IDF is planning its own ground assault, Fox News reported on Wednesday afternoon. Over 300,000 reservists have been activated.
Network host Harris Faulkner reported, “The Israeli Defense Force — the IDF — is now readying their forces and stockpiling supplies near the Gaza Strip.”
She added, “A full-on ground invasion, we are told, is imminent.”
🚨 BREAKING: Israel says 300,000 reserve troops are amassing at the Gaza border and a “full on ground invasion” is “imminent” pic.twitter.com/G92OtnxSwZ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 11, 2023
According to The Wall Street Journal, Israeli forces are staging in the small community of Kfar Aza, which was the scene of much of Saturday’s violence and is within view of Gaza.
The IDF posted on X Tuesday that Hamas would face retribution for the massacre there.
“The terrorists went house to house, massacring babies, mothers and fathers in their bedrooms. Hamas will pay for this crime,” the IDF said.
This is Kibbutz Kfar Aza. In the background is Gaza City.
On Saturday morning, Hamas terrorists charged across the fields. Some landed in paragliders.
The terrorists went house to house, massacring babies, mothers and fathers in their bedrooms.
Hamas will pay for this crime. pic.twitter.com/GxTwYYeR7o
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023
The Journal reported that “hundreds of Israeli soldiers were assembling near bloodstained homes, abandoned Hamas pickup trucks and the bodies of residents and militants in the fields to prepare for what the military is calling a paradigm-changing offensive against Hamas’s Gaza stronghold.”
A video posted on X Sunday by Fox correspondent Trey Yingst showed tanks heading to the Gaza border:
Israeli tanks heading to the Gaza border. pic.twitter.com/H1EcOTIWu2
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 8, 2023
According to the Journal, Israeli troops are “impatient” to strike Hamas on its home turf.
One Israeli soldier who wished to remain anonymous told the outlet that he and others want “revenge.”
“I’ll give it to you straight,” the soldier said. “I am looking for revenge. We are all out for revenge.”
