Israeli Invasion Of The Gaza Strip (2023–present)

The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip. On 13 October, Israel began ground operations in Gaza, and on 27 October, a full-scale invasion was launched. Israel's campaign has four stated goals: to destroy Hamas, to free the hostages, to ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and to return displaced residents of Northern Israel.
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* More than a year after the invasion, fighting in the Gaza Strip halted with the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on 19 January 2025.

By April 2025, the Gaza Ministry of Health had reported that at least 50,500 people in the Gaza Strip had died—1 out of every 44 people—averaging 93 deaths per day. Most of the victims are civilians, of whom at least 50% are women and children. Compared to other recent global conflicts, the numbers of known deaths of journalists, humanitarian and health workers, and children are among the highest. Thousands of more dead bodies are thought to be under the rubble of destroyed buildings. A study in ''the Lancet'' estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injuries by June 2024, while noting a larger potential death toll when "indirect" deaths are included. As of January 2025, a comparable estimate for traumatic injury deaths would be around 80,000. The number of injured is greater than 100,000; Gaza has the most child amputees per capita in the world.

A severe humanitarian crisis has developed, with healthcare on the brink of collapse, shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade, electricity and communications blackouts, and the UN warning of potential famine. It was widely reported that there is "no safe place in Gaza", as Israel struck areas it had previously told Palestinians to evacuate to. Nearly all 2.3 million Gazans have been internally displaced and 250,000 to 500,000 Israelis were internally displaced, while Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians and said it lost 353 additional soldiers in its invasion as of 13 October 2024. By mid-December, Israel had dropped 29,000 munitions on Gaza, destroying or damaging 70 percent of homes, destroying hundreds of cultural landmarks, and damaging dozens of cemeteries. Experts say that the scale and pace of destruction in Gaza is among the most severe in recent history.

The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas. As a result of the invasion, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), charging that Israel was committing genocide and requesting that the ICJ render provisional measures of protection. Various experts and human rights organizations have also characterized the events in Gaza as genocide. Other accusations include the deliberate targeting of civilians and starving the population of Gaza by Israel, and the use of human shields and holding of Israeli hostages by Hamas.

Background

After Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 which saw a minimum of 1,139 largely non-combatant individuals killed, Israel declared war against Hamas. Israel moved to mobilize 300,000 reservists and began to move armor close to the border with the Gaza Strip in the aftermath. Included in the amassing of armor were Namer armored personnel carriers and Merkava tanks.

Before the raids, Israel had told the UN that the more than a million people living in the north half of the Gaza Strip should evacuate within a 24-hour window. In response, Hamas instructed those residents to stay put. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had urged around 1.1 million civilians to leave North Gaza so they would not be hurt or caught in crossfire, and Israeli officials said that the window was left at 24-hours to reduce the time for Hamas to conduct military preparation in the area. Aid groups said the time window was too short to evacuate one million people, and lack of electricity in Gaza made it difficult for electronic communications about the evacuation to reach Gazans. Israel dropped leaflets in Gaza City containing the evacuation order, in addition to electronic communications.

On 21 October 2023, the Israeli army dropped more leaflets in Gaza with the message: "Urgent warning! To the residents of Gaza: your presence to the North of Wadi Gaza is putting your lives at risk. Anyone who chooses not to evacuate from the North of the Gaza Strip to the South of the Gaza Strip may be identified as a partner in a terrorist organization."

Raids inside Gaza

On 13 October 2023, the IDF sent armored vehicles and infantry into the Gaza Strip, stating that their goals were to attack Hamas fighters and to rescue hostages that had been abducted to Gaza by Hamas. The operation, according to Israeli officials, was not part of a larger and widely anticipated ground invasion, but rather a raid in which troops only temporarily enter the Gaza Strip. The IDF confirmed the same day that Israeli remains were located and retrieved in the Gaza Strip.

Another raid, headed by the Givati Brigade and the 162nd Armoured Division, took place between 25 and 26 October and was the largest offensive so far, including tanks, other vehicles and IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers. A follow-up raid took place the next night in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City.

October–November 2023: invasion begins

October 2023

27 October

Internet and mobile phone services in Gaza were nearly cut off. On the evening of 27 October, the IDF launched a large-scale ground assault on the towns of Beit Hanoun and Bureij in the Gaza Strip. Shayetet 13, a commando unit of the Israeli Navy, carried out a strike on Hamas naval forces overnight. An Israeli Skylark II drone was shot down on the Gaza Strip.

28 October

Israel said that the units deployed inside the Gaza Strip the previous night were still on the ground, which marked the beginning of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. The IDF announced it was "expanding ground operations" in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military reissued a call to Gaza residents to evacuate the north as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the "second phase of the war has begun".

The IDF advanced on three fronts: from the northeast near Beit Hanoun, from the northwest near Beit Lahia, and from the east near Juhor ad-Dik.

29 October

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), described as "deeply concerning" reports from the Palestine Red Crescent Society with smoke and dust, prompting staff to give breathing masks to some patients. Around 14,000 civilians were believed to be sheltering in or near the hospital. The al-Quds hospital had received an urgent evacuation warning along with a notice that it was "going to be bombarded". He reiterated that it was "impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients without endangering their lives". Israeli airstrikes targeted the area around the hospital, filling parts of the building. Associated Press reported that Israeli airstrikes also destroyed roads leading to the Al-Shifa hospital, making it increasingly difficult to reach. Later in the day, Hamas said that Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli tanks in Salah al-Din Street in Gaza and forced the IDF to retreat. The Institute for the Study of War also said that Israel withdrew from the road.

30 October

The IDF blocked the Salah al-Din Road, a major thoroughfare connecting the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks were also seen in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. A local resident told AFP that the Israelis "have cut the Salah al-Din road and are firing at any vehicle that tries to go along it." Witnesses reported, and a video showed, an Israeli tank firing on a taxi with a white flag on its roof that had attempted to turn around. An Israeli military spokesman said "The IDF was not shown any proof that this is a civilian car and there's no information on who is inside." A kidnapped IDF private was freed the same day in an operation headed by the IDF, with assistance from Shin Bet and Mossad. In northwest Gaza, the Al-Qassam Brigades and the DFLP's National Resistance Brigades engaged Israeli forces, and the National Resistance Brigades bombarded Israeli vehicles with heavy mortar shells.

November 2023

1 November

IDF reported the deaths of 16 soldiers, 15 inside Gaza and one outside of Palestinian territory.

On 2 November, IDF had completely surrounded Gaza City, which began the siege of Gaza City. Al-Qassam Brigades showed footage of the destruction of an Israeli Merkava tank after its fighters used an Al-Yassin 105mm rocket-propelled grenade to neutralize its Trophy protection system.

4 November

A UNRWA spokeswoman confirmed reports that Israel had conducted an airstrike against a United Nations-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the attack killed 15 people and wounded dozens more. According to UNRWA, at least one strike hit the schoolyard, where displaced families had set up their tents. The Gaza Ministry of Health said another Israeli missile strike on the entrance to the Nasser Children's Hospital killed two women. According to White House officials, efforts to evacuate foreign nationals through the Rafah border crossing were temporarily hindered by Hamas's refusal to allow anyone to leave, until a certain number of its own wounded were also allowed to leave. Hamas said that within the last two days they had destroyed 24 Israeli vehicles, including a tank, an APC, and a bulldozer with anti-armour weapons.

Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel "in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel's refusal (to accept) a ceasefire." President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters he held Netanyahu personally responsible for civilian deaths in Gaza and said that he was "no longer someone we can talk to".

Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, reported that due to Israeli air strikes, the bodies of 23 missing Israeli hostages were buried under the rubble.

5 November

IDF reported that 29 soldiers had been killed, and one severely wounded, during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

6 November

Israeli missile attacks targeted the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza City, hitting the Al-Nasser Children's Hospital, eight people were killed and dozens more were injured according to Al Jazeera. Human Rights Watch called for a weapons embargo against both Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups, accusing them of committing war crimes against civilians.

''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that the U.S. Biden administration was planning to send $320 million worth of "Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies", a type of precision guided weapon fired by warplanes, to Israel. Under the deal, weapons manufacturer Rafael USA would send the bombs to its Israeli parent Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for use by the Israeli defense ministry.

10 November

Netanyahu said the IDF would control Gaza after the war and rejected proposals to establish an international force in the strip.

11 November

Four IDF soldiersa major, a sergeant major, and two master sergeantswere killed and other four were wounded after a tunnel exploded in their vicinity near Beit Hanoun. All casualties were from the 697th battalion of the 551st Reserve Brigade Arrows of Fire. Among the dead was Matan Meir, the executive producer of the Israeli television series Fauda.

13 November

The IDF published a video which they said showed that Hamas had a facility under Al-Rantisi Hospital, and that Israeli hostages were likely hidden there. The video showed, among others, a stash of weapons and explosives; what appears to be a motorbike with a bullet hole on its side; and water, ventilation and sewage infrastructure that the IDF said were improvised in preparation of coming hostages.

According to ''The New York Times'', the origins of the weapons shown in the video could not be independently verified.

Charles Lister, Director of the Counterterrorism and Extremism Program at the Middle East Institute, said the IDF footage "clearly indicated" that the basement was a bomb shelter. Mohammed Zarqout, a local official responsible for Gaza's hospitals, said the basement was a shelter for women and children.

The IDF also presented a calendar that they said was found under the hospital marking the days since 7 October, with the title "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood". Israel said the calendar was a list "where every terrorist writes his name", but fluent Arabic speakers called this claim "propaganda", and that the words in Arabic only spelled out the days of the week.

14 November

''The New York Times'' published a report by its Visual Investigations team contradicting claims by the IDF that civilian deaths and damage at the al-Shifa Hospital had been caused by stray Palestinian projectiles. The report concluded instead, "some of the munitions were likely fired by Israeli forces", based on video and satellite evidence and an examination of weapons fragments collected and verified by ''The Times'' and analyzed by experts. Moreover, two of the most severe strikes analyzed by ''The Times'' hit upper floors of the maternity ward and did not appear to be aimed at underground infrastructure. "Israel's assertion that Al-Shifa was actually hit by a Palestinian projectile echoed similar – and unresolved – claims and counterclaims following munitions that hit the courtyard of another Gaza hospital, Al-Ahli, nearly a month ago. The evidence reviewed by ''The Times'' from Al-Shifa points more directly to strikes by Israel – whether on purpose or by accident is unclear," the report said. The IDF has said that it is targeting Al Shifa Hospital due to its use by Hamas, and that there is a command center underneath the facility, with U.S. officials stating that their intelligence confirms Israel's conclusions that Hamas is operating out of hospitals in Gaza. A day earlier, the EU issued a joint declaration condemning Hamas for its use of hospitals and civilians as " human shields" in Gaza. A number of countries and international organizations condemned what they called Hamas' use of hospitals and civilians as human shields.

IDF soldiers carried boxes into al-Shifa, labeled in English and Arabic as "medical supplies" and "baby food". In an interview with ''Al Jazeera'', an emergency room employee said that Israel "did not bring any aid or supplies", while another contact within the hospital told the BBC that Israeli soldiers had supplied water to elderly patients. Several hours later, the IDF said it had found weapons in al-Shifa, indicating the presence of a command center. The IDF released a video that it said showed grenades, automatic weapons and flak jackets recovered from the hospital. John Kirby, a U.S. government official, said that the U.S. remained confident in its previous assessment that a Hamas military compound exists under the hospital.

In response, Mouin Rabbani, a Middle East analyst, said, "Israeli forces have invaded Shifa Hospital and been inside it for 12 full hours – having refused any independent party to accompany them – and now we're supposed to believe that there were Hamas militants in there being pursued by the Israeli military but they somehow left their weapons behind?" Political analyst Marwan Bishara said: "It's kind of baffling. Why would Hamas leave the guns and not anything else?" Jeremy Scahill said, "I've seen more guns in the homes of ordinary Americans than in this purported Hamas Pentagon under al-Shifa Hospital."

The next day Israeli forces demolished the Hamas parliament building in Gaza City.

16 November

Netanyahu had said in an interview with CBS that the Israeli government had "strong indications" that hostages were in al-Shifa, which was one of the reasons they entered the hospital. It was reported that the body of Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old woman who was kidnapped from Be'eri kibbutz, was found in a building near the hospital.

Residents in parts of southern Gaza reportedly received evacuation notices, sparking concerns over an expansion of the invasion. A fuel shortage was widely reported to have caused a shutdown of all internet and phone networks in the Gaza Strip, according to its two primary telecom providers Jawwal and Paltel.

17 November

Internet and telecom services were restored after Israel reportedly agreed to allow the delivery of 140,000 liters of fuel into the Gaza Strip every two days following a request by the U.S. to do so, consisting of 20,000 liters to be delivered to Jawwal and Paltel to maintain telecom and internet service and 120,000 liters for water desalination, sewage pumping, food production and hospitals. It was reported that the body of Noa Marciano, a 19-year-old soldier who was taken captive on 7 October, was found in a building near al-Shifa hospital.

18 November

Israeli strikes killed more than 80 people in Jabalia refugee camp.

A World Health Organization team visited the al-Shifa hospital amid reports that the Israeli army commander sent patients away with an Agence France-Presse journalist reportedly witnessing the departure of patients and displaced persons from the hospital.

Jordan's foreign minister Ayman Safadi said that Arab troops would not go into Gaza to assume control after the war.

19 November

The IDF released footage of an underground tunnel under al-Shifa. The tunnel, which is 160 meters long and 10 meters deep, passes directly under the Qatari building of the hospital; it has air-conditioned rooms, bathrooms, a kitchenette, electricity connections and communication infrastructure, and is protected by a blast door. The IDF also released CCTV footage that appears to show two of the hostages being led in the hospital's corridors, as well as Hamas and stolen IDF vehicles in its courtyard. During the 1980s, Israel expanded the hospital with functional basements for maintenance and administration purposes; and a network of tunnels was part of this construction.
According to Israel, Hamas eventually appropriated the complex, then expanded it with its own system of tunnels and bunkers.
Multiple sources concluded that evidence did not demonstrate the use of the tunnels by Hamas as a command center.

A group of 31 premature babies were evacuated from al-Shifa hospital to southern Gaza.

The White House denied reporting from The Washington Post that a Qatari brokered five-day ceasefire deal had been reached. The deal would have included a five-day ceasefire in exchange for the stepwise release of female and child hostages in small groups. The U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal".

20 November

IDF tanks completely surrounded the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza after heavy fire using artillery weapons against it, around 12 Palestinians were killed in clashes around the hospital according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Around 700 people, including the injured and medical staff, were inside the facility when the IDF surrounded it. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, responded on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying he was "appalled" by the Israeli forces and their actions against the Indonesia Hospital by keeping the injured and medical staff inside the building while besieging it.

On 20 November the IDF released video footage of what appears to be a weapons manufacturing facility hidden behind a false wall inside the basement of a mosque in Zeitoun, Gaza. IDF soldiers also discovered weapons, explosive devices, a drone, and a vertical tunnel shaft inside the building.

21 November

The IDF moved its frontline to encircle the Jabaliya refugee camp where they are battling Palestinian militants and attempting to control with IDF forces getting more equipment for the attack.

22 November

Israel and Hamas reached a temporary ceasefire agreement, providing for a four-day "pause" or "lull" in hostilities, to allow for the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza. The deal also provided for the release of approximately 150 Palestinian women and children incarcerated by Israel. The agreement was approved by the Israeli cabinet in the early hours of the day; in a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated Israel's intention to continue the war.

According to Hamas, in addition to the truce and prisoner exchange, the deal also involved Israel halting all air sorties over southern Gaza and maintaining a daily six-hour daytime no-fly window over northern Gaza, in addition to the entry of hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government said that the truce would be extended by one day for every additional 10 hostages released by Hamas. The deal was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, and Egyptian state media announced the truce will enter into effect on the morning of 23 November. Qatari Foreign Affairs minister Mohamed Bin Mubarak Al-Khulaifi, whom Reuters referred to as "Qatar's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks," stated his hope that the truce "will be a seed to a bigger agreement and a permanent cease of fire...That's our intention."

The IDF released video footage from Sheikh Zayed, an area which is home to many senior members of Hamas. The footage showed what the IDF claimed to be a rocket launcher situated near a school, and an armament-laden truck used in the 7 October attack parked in the courtyard of a mosque.

November–December 2023: ceasefire

23 November

The IDF released footage showing a weapons cache hidden under a child's bed, which it said belonged to the child of a senior Hamas official.

24 November

Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thai nationals, and one Filipino captive. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. The IDF also revised the number of hostages held in Gaza to 236.

25 November

Hamas released 13 Israeli and four foreign hostages after a seven-hour delay from their agreed time. Hamas was accused of violating the deal after not having released a mother with her child.

26 November

Hamas released 17 hostages, including 14 Israelis and three Thai nationals. Israel also released 39 teenage Palestinian prisoners.

27 November

Qatar announced that an agreement between Israel and Hamas to extend the truce by two days had been reached.

28 November

Both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce. The IDF reported that several soldiers sustained minor injuries following an attack by Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip by three explosive devices that it said were detonated near its forces at two different locations, while Hamas said it had engaged Israel in a "field clash" that it said was instigated by Israel. Turkish media and Muhammad al-Hindi, Deputy Secretary-General of the PIJ, confirmed that Al-Quds Brigade soldiers held and released civilian women and children to the Red Cross.

29 November

Hamas released 12 hostages, 10 of them Israeli and two of them Thai nationals. Afterwards, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas continued to deny the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the remaining hostages.

30 November

Hamas released two more hostages as the truce, which was supposed to end minutes later, was extended by another day. An Israeli Skylark II drone was reported shot down on central Gaza. The remains were recorded by Palestinian media.

December 2023–January 2025: invasion continues

December 2023

1 December

The IDF said on 18 November that it was expanding offensive operations toward Jabalia city in the northern Gaza Strip.

2 December

Palestinian militants led by Saraya al Quds resisted the Israeli penetration into the northwestern front towards Jabalia, engaging soldiers in urban warfare throughout the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhoods. Al Qassam launched 3 loitering munition armoured bulldozer was also targeted by Palestinian rockets at Juhor ad-Dik. PFLP militants targeted the Gaza envelope with rockets and mortar shelling.

3 December

Israeli forces in Northern Gaza were subject to heavy attacks, led by Al-Qassam Brigades. In Sheikh Radwan, Israeli soldiers were trapped in a booby-trapped tunnel then shelled by Palestinian mortar fire. Three vehicles were targeted by Saraya al Quds with small arms and tandem-charged RPGs.

The next day, Israeli forces demolished the Palace of Justice in south Gaza City, a significant structure that housed the Palestinian Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Court of First Instance, and the Magistrate.

8 December

= Khan Yunis and Central Gaza axis

=
Israeli forces begun to enter Khan Yunis, reporting the most violent fighting in the entire war with the Israeli 7th Brigade engaged in a multi-hour complex attack on Palestinian militias.

Al-Qassam brigades displayed a shift to more sophisticated battle tactics, including rigging houses to detonate when entered by Israeli soldiers. Primary relying on rockets, damage was inflicted on Israeli vehicles while Saraya al Quds, DFLP, and PFLP shelled advancing forces with mortar fire. The IDF conducted land and sea raids on central Gaza, specifically Deir al-Balah to destroy militant command posts.

= Siege of Gaza City

=
Israeli sources reported stiff resistance by Palestinian militants in Shujaiyya, in southern Gaza city, as the 188th Brigade was sent to fight in the neighbourhood.

Qassem Brigades targeted vehicles with RPGs Sheikh Radwan and Zaytoun, while Saraya al Quds militants claimed two tandem-charged RPG and grenade attacks on Israeli forces on advancing axes in the Shujaiya and Zaytoun neighborhoods. Attempts to close in on Jabalia have resulted in significant Israeli casualties, with the IDF acknowledging Gadi Eizenkot's son been eliminated fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on 7 December. The Qassam Brigades claimed that its militants killed the soldier when they detonated an IED on a tunnel door on the eastward line of advance into Jabalia.

In a video publicised by Saraya Al Quds, three militants take positions within the ruins of an urban centre in Gaza, as a Merkava arrives, firing at the militants with its machine guns. They then shoot from three positions with multiple rockets, overriding the Trophy system and destroying the tank. A fighter can be seen rejoicing, exclaiming that the tank had "caught fire"

10 December

The Times of Israel announced that 6 IDF soldiers were killed in fighting in the southern Gaza strip, after Hamas militants detonated an IED targeting the Israeli 5th Brigade's 8111st Battalion forces in Khan Younis. Israeli forces announced that they conducted airstrikes and helicopter strikes in response and eliminated several Hamas militants.

12 December

Israel announced that a further 10 IDF soldiers had been killed in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, including a Colonel and 7 other soldiers of the Golani Brigade, that were killed in the Shuja'iyya area of Gaza after Hamas militants ambushed them.

15 December

The IDF released a statement announcing that they had killed three of their own hostages by friendly fire. According to the Israeli military, they "mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat" during operations in Shuja'iyya and subsequently fired at them, killing them. According to an Israeli military official on 16 December, the three hostages were shirtless and were carrying "a stick with a white cloth on it" when an Israeli soldier, who declared them to be "terrorists" after feeling "threatened", opened fire, killing two hostages and injuring the third, who was killed by Israeli reinforcements.

18 December

Israel announced the deaths of 7 IDF soldiers, mostly killed in the fighting in the southern Gaza strip. Bringing the Israeli death toll to 53 since 1 December. The IDF said it was facing tough opposition in Gaza.

24 December

Israel announced that 15 IDF soldiers had been killed in heavy fighting in Gaza in the 23–24 December period, including six killed when a Namer APC was hit by an anti-tank missile. The IDF also claimed to have killed Hamas' chief of supplies.

Israel also withdrew from Beit Hanoun amidst heavy fighting with various Palestinian armed groups. Returning civilians to the ruins of the town reported that no vehicles were in sight. Israeli forces continue to shell the city.

30 December

Militants engaged Israeli vehicles in the Khan Yunis axis of the invasion. In an episode a tank is targeted by a rocket, tearing off a plate which lands near the militant demonstrating the capabilities of the Yassin 105 rockets against the Merkava's APS. Another fighter erupts from a tunnel, ambushing a tank in an unusual strategy recorded during the invasion where the militants sneak up to the vehicle and place and IED on them from zero distance. A Caterpillar Caterpillar D9 bulldozer is also targeted, setting it on fire.

January 2024

6 January

The IDF claimed that it had completed the dismantlement of Hamas's "military framework" in the northern Gaza Strip as it moved to attack Hamas forces in Central Gaza. The Institute for the Study of War warned that does not mean that Hamas forces are entirely eradicated and could reconstitute themselves.

11 January

The IDF claimed that it had discovered over a thousand tunnel shafts in Gaza City alone with the majority being small sized and thus easily destroyed but larger tunnels needing complex engineering and demolition operations. Israeli security officials conceded that they had an underestimated the scale of Gaza's tunnels and that they have destroyed less than half of them so far. IDF described the change in Hamas tactics in Northern Gaza after the dismantling of its command structure as going into "guerrilla mode".

16 January

The ISW reported that the Palestinian militias were likely re-entering areas of the northern Gaza Strip where Israeli forces previously operated.

17 January

Under U.S. pressure Israel continued withdrawing thousands of troops from Gaza despite concerns from Israeli officials of a possible surge in militant activity. According to IDF sources, Palestinian militants began launching rocket attacks from areas where IDF forces withdrew.

18 January

By 18 January, the IDF said that Hamas had begun to rebuild its armies in the occupied parts of Northern Gaza. The IDF had previously said these armies were stripped of military capabilities but by 18 January the fighting strength of many battalions had been significantly restored.

19 January

Israeli shelling in Khan Younis killed ten people in the Abasan neighborhood.

22 January

Since Israel announced its strategic shift under pressure of the U.S. and allies to reduce the intensity of fighting the number of deaths reported by the Gaza Health Ministry had also declined with the weekly average of daily deaths including both militants and civilians falling to 151. However it could not be established if the percentage of civilian deaths had also reduced. IDF soldiers filmed themselves destroying entire residential neighborhoods in Khan Younis.

Israel reported that at least 24 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. 21 of which were killed while rigging a building for demolition, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the building they were in and caused a large chain explosion. This brought the IDF death toll in Gaza to 219. This makes it the deadliest day for the IDF since the ground invasion began.

February 2024

3 February

Israel announced that it would begin moving into Rafah, after declaring "victory" in Khan Younis. On 3 February, Israeli attacks targeted eastern and central Rafah, reportedly killing at least twenty-eight people. UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk said, "This sets off alarm bells for massive civilian casualties and further displacement to unknown location". German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, "Taking action now in Rafah, the last and most overcrowded place, as announced by the Israeli defence minister, would simply not be justifiable".

4 February

On 4 February, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 92 people had been killed by Israeli attacks on Rafah. At least two girls were killed on an attack at a kindergarten. The intensifying Israeli attacks were reportedly centered in eastern Rafah.

7 February

''Axios'' reported that Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told the U.S. secretary of state that Israel would soon begin expanded ground operations in Rafah. In Rafah, an Israeli airstrike bombed a civilian car next to an entertainment event for displaced children, reportedly killing at least one person. Eleven people were killed in overnight airstrikes. Six Palestinian policemen were reportedly killed while clearing the road for an aid truck.

8 February

The U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "Any major military operation in Rafah at this time... would be a disaster, and we would not support it". The U.S. requested Israel to create a plan and prioritise the safety of civilians which had increased due to refugees from other areas of Gaza. Kirby said that the U.S. had not observed signs of an imminent Israeli offensive into Gaza.

Netanyahu ordered the IDF to prepare to invade Rafah. An intense bombing campaign in west Rafah was reported, reportedly indicating an expanding ground invasion. At least twelve people were killed in airstrikes in southern Rafah.

9 February

Netanyahu ordered the IDF to plan for the "evacuation of the population" from Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister's Office claimed that elimination of Hamas remains impossible without the destruction of the four Hamas battalions in Rafah which is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the IDF. Doctors Without Borders issued a strong warning in response, stating, "Israel's declared ground offensive on Rafah would be catastrophic and must not proceed. Today's announcement marks a dramatic escalation in this ongoing massacre." EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, "Reports of an Israeli military offensive on Rafah are alarming. It would have catastrophic consequences worsening the already dire humanitarian situation and the unbearable civilian toll." Egypt sent 40 tanks to the Rafah border. Eight people were killed and at least eighteen wounded in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Rafah.

10 February

Hanke Bruins Slot, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, said that Israel's planned assault on Rafah was "unjustifiable". Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly

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