TEHRAN, Oct. 26 (MNA) – The Israeli military says that its ground forces carried out an overnight “targeted raid” in the blockaded Gaza Strip and then withdrew as part of preparation for a ground incursion to the small territory.

In an X post on Thursday, the regime’s military said that its troops used tanks in their overnight raid on northern Gaza “as part of preparations for the next stages of combat.”

It claimed that the occupation soldiers struck numerous Palestinian fighters, infrastructure, and anti-tank, guided missile launch positions, and then left the area at the end of their raid.

It did not mention any casualties among Israeli forces, according to Press TV.

Meanwhile, Israel's Army Radio described the assault as the largest conducted by the regime’s military during its war on Gaza, now in its 20th day.

In a televised statement on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the regime’s military was “getting prepared” for the ground invasion of Gaza.

However, he declined to provide any details on the timing or other information about the raid.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza to let the United States send missile systems to the region to protect American soldiers in the face of potential threats. 

Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity.

The Tel Aviv regime has killed over 7,165 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 18,000 others in its relentless airstrikes.

It has also blocked water, food and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal territory into a humanitarian crisis.

Humanitarian operations in Gaza risk grinding to a halt due to a fuel blockade while the territory’s health care system has officially collapsed amid a lack of medicines and power outages. 

MNA