The Israel Defense Forces is conducting extensive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip and mobilizing ground troops to gain operational control in key areas of the enclave, the military announced overnight Friday.
The move marks the opening stage of an expanded phase of military operations—codenamed “Gideon’s Chariots"—aimed at achieving the central objectives of the war: securing the release of hostages and dismantling the Hamas terrorist organization.
במהלך היממה האחרונה צה"ל החל בתקיפות נרחבות והניע כוחות לתפיסת שטחים שולטים בשטח רצועת עזה, זאת כחלק ממהלכי הפתיחה למבצע "מרכבות גדעון" והרחבת המערכה בעזה, להשגת כל מטרות המלחמה בעזה, לרבות שחרור החטופים והכרעת החמאס.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 16, 2025
כוחות צה"ל בפיקוד הדרום ימשיכו לפעול בכדי להגן על אזרחי ישראל… pic.twitter.com/WtK8Iy6XyG
On Friday afternoon, the IDF reported that it had attacked more than 150 terrorist targets across Gaza in the past 24 hours as part of ongoing operations against Hamas.
The airstrikes targeted anti-tank positions, terrorist cells, and structures used to launch attacks on Israeli troops. Ground forces from the 252nd, 143rd and 36th Divisions operated in both northern and southern Gaza, destroying tunnel shafts and other infrastructure while killing terrorists engaged in active combat and plotting further attacks.
In a videoed statement released on May 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to intensify the war in Gaza, asserting that IDF soldiers would remain in every area they capture.
“We decided on intensified action in Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “That was the IDF chief of staff’s recommendation—to move, as he said, toward the defeat of Hamas. He believes this will also help us rescue the hostages. I agree with him.”
“We are not letting up on this effort and will not give up on anyone,” he continued.
Defense Minister Israel Katz echoed these sentiments, saying that Israeli troops were prepared to intensify their activities until all war objectives are achieved.
“The operation is intended to defeat Hamas and secure the release of all hostages. We will act with great force to destroy all of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities,” Katz said.
He added that the entire population of Gaza would be evacuated to the southern part of the Strip during the fighting, and that the IDF would remain in “every area that is taken.”
