Israel's long-feared ground invasion of Gaza appeared to come one step closer to reality on Friday, with an IDF spokesman saying the military was "expanding" its ground operations in the strip, and repeating a warning to civilians in Gaza City to evacuate southward.
"We are prepared on all fronts to preserve Israel's security," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised address Friday evening. "Our ground forces are expanding their ground operations. IDF is operating in all dimensions in order to achieve the goals of the war."
The remarks followed media reports, photos, and videos of large-scale airstrikes taking place across the Gaza Strip, and reports of tank fire.
"Earlier, we've exposed to the world the Shifa Hospital," Hagari continued, referring to an Israeli military-affiliated X account's 3D-rendered video published earlier in the day Friday alleging that Hamas' main headquarters is situated under Gaza City's largest hospital complex. The IDF has yet to provide evidence to back up its allegations.
"We've exposed...how this hospital was converted into using terrorist activities," the spokesman said. "We've exposed this to the world and we will continue to do so. We will continue to attack in Gaza and its surroundings and we keep calling on the people living in Gaza and its environs that south from there they have better conditions."
Warning that anyone ready to test Israel would "pay with their lives," Hagari said IDF forces remain on "high alert" on the northern border with Lebanon.
"The Air Force is striking underground targets very significantly," he added.
The spokesman also reassured that Israel remains committed to the goal of returning hostages being held by Hamas inside Gaza. The Palestinian militant group is estimated to have about 220 Israeli nationals in its possession, previously releasing several people on "humanitarian" and "poor health grounds" in talks facilitated by Egypt and Qatar. A Hamas delegation visited Moscow on Thursday to discuss the possibility of additional releases, but linked the idea to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Gaza's population of 2.1 million people is facing a severe humanitarian crisis in the wake of the flare-up of fighting between the IDF and Hamas after the Palestinian militant group's surprise assault on areas bordering the strip on October 7, with the besieged territory quickly running out of food, water, medical supplies, and being cut off from electricity and the ability to communicate with the outside world.
Israel has ordered approximately half of the strip's residents to leave their homes in the north and head south as IDF artillery and jets pound what the Israeli military says are Hamas positions in Gaza City and other urban areas.
The United States rushed to provide Israel with additional military assistance from the first days of the crisis, and has deployed two carrier strike groups, thousands of additional troops, advanced air defenses, and more fighter jets to the region. At the United Nations, the US has vetoed proposals ceasefires and humanitarian pauses. Russia, China, Iran, Brazil, Turkiye, and other powers have demanded an urgent halt to fighting.
The escalation that began October 7 is the latest round of violence between the Palestinians and Israelis going back to the creation of the state of Israel in the late 1940s in the wake of the Second World War. Over 1,400 Israelis and 7,400+ Palestinians have been killed in fighting to date, with over 60 people killed in Lebanon and 16 in Syria in a spate of Israeli strikes on those countries amid the conflict. Iran and other powers have warned that if the crisis is not stopped, it may escalate into a regional war.