What We Know About Israel’s Ground Incursion in Gaza

• Israeli forces mounted a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in the early morning hours of October 28.
• The invasion comes as a response to Hamas’ deadly terror attacks in Israel on October 7.
• Almost all internet and cellular services and emergency contact number 101 are cut off in Gaza.

Israel expanded its military operations in the Gaza territory in the early morning hours of October 28, following weeks of mobilization. 

Israel Defense Forces officials so far have declined to confirm the actions are part of an anticipated full-scale ground invasion, but multiple reports indicate a sharp increase in IDF troops advancing across the border into Gaza, in addition to explosions from continuous airstrikes. Internet and cellular service has been cut off in the region, limiting firsthand reports on the ground. 

The offensive is Israel’s most brutal response yet to the deadly Hamas terror attacks on October 7 that claimed more than 1,400 lives and resulted in 100-200 people being kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

Since then, Israel has waged an intense bombing campaign across the Gaza Strip and said it would not relent until Hamas released all hostages who were taken during the initial October 7 attacks. The militant group has said that it would release the hostages if Israel ceased its counteroffensive.

An advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of the ground invasion, telling MSNBC’s Katy Tur on Friday that “tonight we are starting payback.”

On October 27, internet and cellular services were cut off in Gaza, and the emergency number, 101, was also down, meaning that ambulances could not be dispatched. Medical workers also said they could not communicate with each other, and multiple news outlets said they had lost contact with reporters in the region.

The Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry said that more than 7,000 Gazans have died since Israel launched its counter-assault and that nearly 3,000 were minors. The median age in Gaza is 18.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza. It “will take a long time” to dismantle Hamas’ vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expects a lengthy phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys “pockets of resistance.”

His comments pointed to a potentially grueling and open-ended new phase of the war after three weeks of relentless bombardment. Israel has said it aims to crush Hamas’ rule in Gaza and its ability to threaten Israel. But how Hamas’ defeat will be measured and an invasion’s endgame remains unclear. Israel says it does not intend to rule the tiny territory but not who it expects to govern — even as Gallant suggested a long-term insurgency could ensue.

In Washington, the Pentagon said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Gallant on Friday and “underscored the importance of protecting civilians during the Israel Defense Forces’ operations and focusing on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza.” The Pentagon said Austin also brought up “the need for Hamas to release all of the hostages.”

The conflict has threatened to ignite a wider war across the region. Arab nations — including U.S. allies and ones that have reached peace deals or normalized ties with Israel — have raised increasing alarm over a potential ground invasion, likely to bring even higher casualties amid urban fighting.

Salem Ahmad Ammar, a Gaza resident speaking near Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told CNN he and his wife have split up as they try to wait out the fighting, hoping that one of them may survive the onslaught to take care of their children. 

“Don’t know if I (will) live to see the daylight tomorrow morning,” Ammar said. “I split from my wife, and the kids went to her parents’ house, and I came to the hospital here in the event we die in different places and maybe one of us would live and our kids will live. Difficult choices we are making.”

Though 120 countries, an overwhelming majority of the United Nations, voted Friday for a resolution to call for a “sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza, Israel has so far refused international calls for a cease-fire. 

The US, one of the nation’s closest allies, has not formally issued a declaration for a cease-fire, and has increased its force posture in the region amid the Israel-Hamas war, redirecting Navy strike groups and activating Patriot battalions to aid in the defense of Israel.

Though the Biden administration has asked Congress to provide $14.3 billion in new aid for Israel — a significant bolster to the $3.8 billion of annual military aid the US provides to Israel annually — US officials have distanced themselves from the on-the-ground military decisions being made by Israel in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

“Make no mistake: what is, has or will unfold in Gaza is purely an Israeli decision,” USMC commandant Gen. Eric Smith told reporters, per Jared Szuba, a Pentagon correspondent for Al Monitor, an independent outlet specializing in reporting on the Middle East.