Israeli Tanks Enter Gaza Neighborhood, Families Flee; IDF Preps For Conflict With Hezbollah In Lebanon

Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza’s Shujayea neighborhood Thursday, causing Palestinian families to flee.

According to multiple media reports, Israel Defense Forces ordered Palestinians to move south out of Shujayea. Tanks unleashed bombs against Hamas militants that Israeli media said are present there.

Residents of the neighborhood were reportedly taken by surprise by the approaching tanks and drones. Israel had combed the area early in the war, Al Jazeera reported.

Anadolu, a state-run news agency in Turkey, reported the attack on Shujayea caused causalities.

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The move comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that while the ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be over soon, it "doesn't mean the war is about to end.”

The health ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that at over 37,700 people have been killed over the last eight months of war between Israel and Hamas, the militants occupying Palestine.

Over 86,400 have been wounded since the conflict began on Oct. 7, according to Gaza health officials.

The death toll in Israel from Hamas-led attacks is believed to be around 1,140. Earlier this month, CNN reported that Israel believes that more than 70 hostages still held in Gaza are alive.

The U.S. Department of State and European Union’s European Council view Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

Israel Prepares For Conflict With Hezbollah

Israeli troops are carrying out combat scenarios and exercises that simulate fighting in Lebanon. The IDF says the exercises are aimed at increasing readiness against Hezbollah, a Lebanese and Iranian-backed militant group considered a terror organization by the U.S. and the U.K.

Hezbollah is estimated to have 10 times the military capability of Hamas.

The threat of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah comes as both sides exchange strikes, sparking fears of a larger conflict.

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