Israel-Hamas conflict: Israel mounts limited Gaza ground raids, puts hostage number at 222
Hamas says its fighters engaged Israeli force infiltrating Gaza
Jerusalem, October 23 : Israel’s military said on Monday that ground forces mounted limited raids into the Gaza Strip overnight to fight Palestinian gunmen and that air strikes were being focused on sites where Hamas was assembling to attack any wider Israeli invasion.
In a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 222 people had now been confirmed as taken hostage during the October 7 cross-border onslaught by Hamas.
Gaza: Hamas fighters engaged with an Israeli force that infiltrated the Gaza Strip and returned to their base after destroying some Israeli military equipment, the Palestinian group’s armed wing Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades said on Sunday.
The group said in a statement the infiltration by what it described as an armoured force took place east of Khan Younis in the southern region of Gaza, amid expectations of a full-scale ground offensive by Israeli forces massed around the enclave.
“Fighters engaged with the infiltrating force, destroying two bulldozers and a tank and forced the force to withdraw, before they returned safely to base,” the statement said.
There was no immediate Israeli comment about the destruction of Israeli equipment or vehicles.
