The New York Times has quoted US officials as saying that Israel has halted its plans for a large-scale invasion of Gaza, opting instead for “limited ground incursions.”
The officials explained that this step comes in line with a proposal made by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to his Israeli counterpart.
The Israeli military spokesperson announced on Sunday morning that an officer and a soldier were injured by a shell fired by militants during clashes in northern Gaza.
Israel announced that its forces attacked 450 targets in Gaza on Saturday.
The Israeli Air Force launched several consecutive airstrikes on northern Gaza, the heaviest since the start of the war, causing a complete cut-off of communications and the Internet in the sector, according to the Al-Arabiya website.
The Israeli army announced earlier on Saturday that 100 of its warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip overnight, coinciding with a massive ground incursion.
An IDF spokesman told ABC News that the actual ground invasion of Gaza Strip has not yet begun, and that the current ground operations “are not the official ground invasion.”
Palestinian media also reported that the Gaza Strip is witnessing “very intense shelling in different areas,” noting that “Gaza has not witnessed such shelling since the start of the aggression,” which led to a complete cut-off of communications and the internet in the Gaza Strip.
