IDF launches ground offensive in northern Gaza

Israel Defense Forces troops have initiated a ground operation along the coastal axis in the Beit Lahia area of northern Gaza, according to a joint statement from the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) on Thursday afternoon.

Ahead of the offensive, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on Hamas “military” infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch positions in the area. The operation marks an escalation in Israel’s ongoing military campaign against terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF has also expanded its ground operations in central and southern Gaza as part of its effort to retake the Netzarim Corridor defensive zone between the north and south of the Strip.

On Thursday morning, IDF Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a warning on X, notifying Gaza residents of the operation and urging them to avoid travel along the Salah al-Din Road, the Strip’s main highway, which runs more than 28 miles, from the Rafah Crossing to Egypt in the south to the Erez Crossing to Israel in the north. Movement between northern and southern Gaza is only permitted via the parallel al-Rashid Street (the coastal road), he said.

Adraee emphasized that the IDF does not intend to harm civilians and advised residents to keep their distance from Israeli forces operating in the defensive zone and other military zones.

Israeli forces continue extensive operations across Gaza, carrying out numerous strikes on Wednesday and overnight. An airstrike targeted a vehicle carrying two Hamas operatives in southern Gaza, while additional strikes hit terrorist infrastructure, a surveillance post, and other militant targets, the IDF said.

The military said operations will persist to eliminate threats posed by terrorist organizations and ensure the security of Israeli citizens.

The IDF announced on Thursday afternoon that Hamas terrorist Rashid Jahjuh, chief of its General Security Forces, was eliminated in a strike. Rashid Jahjuh replaced Sami Oudeh, who Israel killed in July 2024.

The terrorist organization’s “security forces” are responsible for exposing Palestinian “collaborators,” securing senior Hamas operatives in Gaza and abroad and suppressing opposition to its rule, the IDF said.

The unit also “operates to produce intelligence assessments that enable senior Hamas officials to plan and execute terror attacks” against Israel.

Jahjuh was eliminated alongside Ayman Atsalih, head of the Khan Yunis sector within Hamas’s General Security Forces, according to the army.

A second Israeli strike was said to have killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Ismail Abd al-Aal, identified by the military as a “central terrorist” in the Iranian-backed terrorist organization’s unit for weapons smuggling.

“The weapons smuggling unit is responsible for the transportation, storage and smuggling of military equipment and weaponry into the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said.

Al-Aal “led most of the Islamic Jihad’s weapons smuggling operations in recent years,” it added.

Israel resumed military operations in Gaza earlier this week after Hamas rejected U.S.-backed ceasefire extension proposals. The operation, dubbed “Strength and Sword,” began with a wave of heavy airstrikes targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad positions across the enclave.

The IDF confirmed on Wednesday that its ground forces had regained control of parts of the Netzarim Corridor, a key area dividing northern and southern Gaza. Soldiers from the Golani Infantry Brigade have been placed on standby for further operations.

On Thursday evening, Defense Ministry Israel Katz approved renewed battle plans for the Gaza Strip during a meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior security officials, his office said.

“We already see that the military pressure affects Hamas’s position. We will not stop until the hostages are released,” Katz said at the meeting.