The IDF reported Sunday that it significantly ramped up its ground campaign in Gaza over the weekend, hitting 670 Hamas-related sites and eliminating numerous operatives from the terror group as part of a broadened military effort.
Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the IDF spokesperson, said that five divisions are now active inside the Gaza Strip—marking the first time since late 2023 or early 2024 that so many troops have been deployed in the territory simultaneously.
Among the divisions on the ground are the 143rd, 36th, and 252nd, which have been engaged since early March. The 162nd Division has since joined them. Previously, the 98th Division had also participated in operations within Gaza.
A typical division consists of between 5,000 and 10,000 soldiers. Following the IDF’s withdrawal from Khan Yunis on April 7, 2024, only a limited number of troops remained in Gaza until this renewed push.
A military presence of this scale had not been seen since the opening stages of the war with Hamas.
Throughout the weekend, the army reentered both northern and southern Gaza in substantial numbers, areas it had largely stayed out of since early 2024.
IDF strikes targeted Hamas fighters, tunnel infrastructure, weapons caches, and anti-tank units.
Notably absent from this wave of strikes were broad assaults on Hamas command centers—possibly a sign that the terror group has been unable to regroup into centralized leadership hubs since fighting resumed in March.
The tone of the IDF’s statements left the door open for future negotiations with Hamas that might result in a ceasefire and a hostage deal.
That said, military officials dismissed speculation that field commanders had been told to prepare for an imminent truce.
Still, the army did not disclose how much deeper the new offensive had pushed into Gaza territory.
In previous phases of the war, the IDF had already gained control over roughly 40 to 50 percent of the Gaza Strip.
The current wave of operations may increase that figure to as much as 70 or 80 percent, forcing much of the local population into designated humanitarian zones such as Al-Mawasi, as well as parts of Khan Yunis and central Gaza.
Certain regions remain off-limits to Israeli forces in order to minimize the risk to Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir entered Gaza to meet with senior officers, including Southern Command leader Major General Yaniv Asor, 162nd Division commander Brigadier General Sagiv Dahan, and troops from the 401st Brigade.
Zamir told the soldiers that their mission would crush any remaining morale within Hamas and strengthen Israel’s hand in negotiating the return of its captives.
According to Hamas and international outlets, more than 260 civilians have been killed and over 600 wounded in Israeli operations since the latter part of last week.
IDF sources said it was too early to verify those figures, but they acknowledged such numbers were not beyond belief given Hamas’s practice of embedding itself among civilians.
They stressed that the IDF continues to make every effort to limit collateral damage.
With the IDF confirming the deaths of dozens of Hamas terrorists, officials suggested the true civilian toll was likely below the reported 260.
Later on Sunday, Hamas launched two rockets from central Gaza toward Kissufim near the border.
One missile was intercepted, and the other landed in an empty area. It was unclear whether the second rocket was deliberately left to fall by the Iron Dome system due to its projected path posing no threat to people or infrastructure.
Since January 2024, Hamas has largely failed to sustain any significant rocket assault on Israeli territory, aside from a few brief flareups—most notably during the IDF’s initial assault on Rafah in the spring.
{Matzav.com Israel}