Israeli troops appear to have advanced more than 2 miles into Gaza, raising the Jewish nation’s flag in the Palestinian territory for the first time in 18 years, according to a new video.
Images of Israel Defense Forces soldiers waving their country’s flag inside Gaza were posted on social media by Jewish media outlet Israel Hayo on Saturday night, ahead of Israel’s planned full invasion.
“Soldiers from the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade wave the Israeli flag in the heart of Gaza next to the beach,” a soldier narrates in the video. “We will not forgive or forget and we will not stop until victory.”
It is believed to be the first time the Israeli flag has flown over an area of Gaza since 2005, when Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory were dismantled and evacuated, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The IDF has not yet commented on the video. Hamas has also not issued any statement.
Despite claims that the flag was planted “in the heart of Gaza,” CNN geolocated the video to an area in northern Gaza about 2 miles from the border.
Israeli soldiers wave their country’s flag inside Gaza, according to a video posted on social media Saturday night.@IsraelHayomHeb/X The video may have been taken on the beach near the Bianco Resort, 2 miles inside Gaza .@ytirawi/X Along with advances in the north, Israeli tanks have been seen mobilizing near Gaza’s southern border. AFP via Getty Images The apparent takeover of a Palestinian area is the latest move by Israeli forces inside Gaza as they prepare for a full invasion.@IsraelHayomHeb/X
Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi echoed that conclusion, suggesting that the video was taken near the Bianco Resort along the Mediterranean Sea.
The images come as Israel plans a large-scale ground attack to destroy Hamas after the terrorist group killed more than 1,400 people on the border on October 7.
Israel announced on Friday that it was “expanding ground operations” as it prepares for its invasion, with the IDF paving the way for troops and tanks to enter Gaza.
“We are looking for anti-tank capabilities, we are destroying observation posts and we are attacking terrorists where we find them, on the front lines or on the periphery of the Gaza Strip,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner.
“We intend to dismantle their capabilities, destroy their government and ensure that they can never again use the Gaza Strip as a staging ground against our people,” he said.
Along with advances along the northern border, Israel has been increasing its military presence along the southern border since last week, when photographs taken by Reuters on Friday showed several Israeli tanks and other military equipment lined up on the border. with the Gaza Strip.
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