Israel has said that it has carried out a “targeted raid” with tanks in the Gaza Strip, as these images purport to show.
The footage shows a column of Israeli tanks crossing the border wall from Israel into Gaza and repeatedly opening fire on unspecified targets.
The images show a number of explosions as buildings are destroyed before the tanks can be seen leaving and apparently making their way back across the border.
The overnight raid, the Israeli army said today, Thursday, 26th October, comes as it prepares its forces for a ground invasion.
The images were obtained from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier this morning, along with a statement saying: “Overnight, the IDF conducted a targeted raid using tanks in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of preparations for the next stages of combat.
“The soldiers exited the area at the end of the activity.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
A Red Cross mission sent to assess the state of Gaza’s hospitals has described scenes of chaos and exhaustion, along with a critical fuel shortage amid relentless bombing from Israel.
The experts in the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the two main medical centres in Gaza on Tuesday, the al-Quds and al-Shifa hospitals.
William Schomburg, the head of the Red Cross mission to Gaza, said that both hospitals were “rapidly running out of fuel and medical supplies.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East.
According to a Kremlin transcript, he said: “Our task today, our main task, is to stop the bloodshed and violence.
“Otherwise, further escalation of the crisis is fraught with grave and extremely dangerous and destructive consequences.
“And not only for the Middle East region. It could spill over far beyond the borders of the Middle East.”
Jordan’s Queen Rania, who was born to Palestinian parents in Kuwait, has accused Western leaders of a “glaring double standard”.
Speaking from Amman, she said: “When 7th October happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself, and condemned the attack.”
She also criticised Western countries for then opposing a blanket ceasefire and said their silence gave the impression they were “complicit” in Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
The Palestinians are reportedly burying their unidentified dead in mass graves as casualties mount.
Retaliatory strikes by Israel have now reportedly killed over 6,546 people, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. A further 17,439 Palestinians have reportedly been wounded.
Israel’s actions come after an unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on Israeli territory on 7th October that left over 1,400 Israelis dead.
