TEL AVIV: Israeli tanks and infantry entered northern Gaza on Thursday and destroyed Hamas bases and anti-tank-guided missile launch sites in preparation for the ground war. Several Hamas members were killed.

Soldiers and tanks returned to Israeli territory after a targeted raid that penetrated into Gaza just one kilometre from the border on Thursday morning. This was an operation to prepare the border area for a full-scale ground war. The raid took place after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was preparing for a ground attack and would rain hellfire on Hamas. However, Netanyahu clarified that it is impossible to say when the ground war will start.

The US and the UK opposed the resolution introduced by Russia in the UN Security Council calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Russia, China and the UAE opposed a US-led draft resolution calling for humanitarian pauses in fighting to allow aid access to Gaza.

Ground attack in three phases
Phase 1 - Heavy air strikes are currently underway. The primary objective is to destroy Hamas' infrastructure and neutralize its fighters
Phase 2 - The remaining obstructions in Gaza will be eliminated. Preparations for the second phase have started
Phase 3 - Israel may create a buffer zone around Gaza. Gaza will be completely dependent on the international community for essential goods. Israel may use US-made GBU-28 bombs to destroy Hamas tunnels.

Death toll crosses 7,000

• The death toll in Gaza has crossed 7,000. Among them, 3,000 are children.
• Malaysia is working with its partners to drag Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
• The family of Al Jazeera Bureau Chief Wael Al-Dahdouh was killed in southern Gaza. A Palestinian female journalist and her child were killed. 24 journalists have been killed so far
• A report claimed that 500 Hamas militants received training from Iran's Quds Force for attacks in Israel
• Two people suffered injuries after a Hamas rocket hit Tel Aviv