Israel deploys reserve brigades to Gaza Strip
Israel's military said Wednesday it is deploying two reserve brigade divisions to the Gaza Strip, a move that comes as Israel prepares for a ground invasion in the southern city of Rafah.
The military said the brigades would carry out "defensive and tactical missions," without offering further details about the plans.
Israeli officials have said an offensive in Rafah is necessary to achieve their goal of eliminating the Hamas militant group.
The United States, United Nations and others have expressed concerns about a ground invasion, saying it could bring a humanitarian disaster to Rafah. More than half of Gaza's population is sheltering in the area, with many people having fled from other parts of Gaza due to the fighting and Israeli evacuation orders.
The Israeli military said Wednesday its fighter jets struck more than 50 targets in Gaza during the past day.
There were also Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, including in response to a wave of Hezbollah rocket fire that the militant group said was in response to civilians being killed by earlier Israeli strikes.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terror organizations by the United States.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says the militants are still holding about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30 others.
Israel's response, a military campaign it says is aimed at eliminating Hamas and ensuring the group cannot carry out a future attack, has killed at least 34,183 Palestinians and injured more than 77,000 others, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says women and children account for two-thirds of those killed.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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