Israel Nears Ground Troop Deployment in Gaza Strip... 500,000 Troops Assembled

Evacuation Order Issued for Residents Near Israel Border
"Very Aggressive Response to Hamas" Warning

As the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip enters its fifth day, the Israeli military has amassed a large ground force near the border area, signaling that a ground troop deployment is imminent. The Israeli military plans to mobilize over 500,000 troops, including active and reserve forces, to eradicate Hamas. In the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of refugees have already been displaced, raising concerns about a large number of civilian casualties.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to CNN on the 11th (local time), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have fully deployed troops along the southern border adjacent to the Gaza Strip. The border barrier area around Gaza is covered with tanks, and a total of 530,000 troops, including 170,000 active-duty soldiers and 360,000 reservists, have been assembled. Once the ground forces are fully gathered, a large-scale ground operation is expected to commence.

The Israeli government has issued evacuation orders to residents in the southern areas near the Gaza border barrier, advising them to prepare food and water supplies to last more than 72 hours and to leave the area. Following airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force on key Hamas military bases in the Gaza area, a large-scale ground operation is anticipated to begin shortly.

The Israeli ground forces currently stationed at the border are reportedly still searching for and rooting out Hamas operatives hiding in the Gaza area. It is estimated that thousands of casualties have already occurred in clashes with Hamas operatives who infiltrated the Israeli border, with around 1,500 bodies discovered at once.

Richard Hecht, IDF spokesperson, warned, "This attack will be larger and more severe than before. It will not end cleanly," adding, "We will respond very aggressively to Hamas. We all need to change our paradigm."

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, dispatched by the U.S. Department of Defense shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean near Israel the previous day and is closely monitoring the situation. On the same day, the first U.S. transport plane carrying weapons for Israel landed at an Israeli southern airbase, indicating rapid preparations for the deployment of Israeli ground forces.

Particularly, hundreds of civilian bodies, including 40 infants, have been found in some of the areas invaded by Hamas, greatly intensifying Israeli animosity toward Hamas. Due to this, if hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops participate in the ground operation, there are concerns that massive civilian casualties will occur in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government has also rejected all humanitarian aid shipments that the Palestinian Authority (PA) intended to deliver to the Gaza Strip. Gaza is already cut off from water, electricity, and gas, and it is reported that more than 260,000 refugees have been displaced due to Israeli military bombings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.