Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops on Wednesday night carried out a raid in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have evacuated and where Israel is likely to carry out a ground invasion.
It’s at least the second such IDF raid over the Gaza border since the war began earlier this month, and the latest sign of an imminent Israeli escalation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly touted a next phase of the conflict, but when and how it will happen remains unclear.
The IDF announced the most recent raid on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday, writing, “In preparation for the next stages of combat, the IDF operated in northern Gaza. IDF tanks & infantry struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts. The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly declared its support for Israel since Hamas’s shock offensive on October 7, when the militant group that controls Gaza overwhelmed IDF command posts, killed 1,400 people, and kidnapped at least 220. In the intervening weeks, the administration has also sent military officers like Marine Gen. James Glynn, who worked with the US coalition to defeat ISIS, to advise the Israeli response; deployed two carrier strike groups and additional air support in the eastern Mediterranean; and mobilized more than 2,000 troops to deter Iran and its affiliated groups from becoming openly involved in the war.
The US and other international actors are hoping to contain the conflict and have successfully argued for a delay in the invasion, while some foreign policy officials and experts have argued that Israel should pursue a more limited counterterrorism approach, rather than a full-scale ground invasion.
But experts said it’s unlikely Wednesday’s raid signals an unexpected strategy shift. For now, the country appears set to go forward with a large-scale ground…
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