Israeli Tanks Roll into Gaza City as Ground Offensive Begins

Israeli Tanks Roll into Gaza City as Ground Offensive Begins

The ground offensive to capture the terrorist stronghold of Gaza City is in full swing, with Israeli tanks rolling into the city center, Israeli media reported Tuesday morning.

Israeli tanks were reportedly sighted in the Hamas-held city center. “Tanks were reported on al-Jalaa Street in the city center,” Israel’s Ynetnews reported Tuesday. “According to Palestinian reports, the attacks focused on three main neighborhoods: Sheikh Radwan, al-Karama and Tel al-Hawa.”

The IDF was carrying out waves of strikes on Hamas fortifications, observation posts, and tunnel networks as part of its move to encircle the terror stronghold. “Overnight, a large wave of airstrikes was carried out in Gaza City, as the two divisions began to advance into new areas of Gaza City, beyond those currently under Israeli control,” The Times of Israel reported Tuesday. “In the coming days and weeks, the ground troops are set to push deeper into the city, and encircle it, as part of efforts to defeat Hamas’s forces there, according to the IDF.”

⭕️ IDF troops have begun expanding ground operations in Gaza City as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II

In the past day, IDF activity in Gaza City has began according to the operational plan, and is expected to expand in line with the current situational assessment.

Its aim… pic.twitter.com/dJBpd7wq1x

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 16, 2025

“The mission rests on your shoulders: to intensify the blows against Hamas and to decisively defeat the Gaza City brigade, in order to carry out the most moral and important duty – the return of all the hostages home and the dismantling of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.” IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Tuesday in a message to the soldiers carrying out the operation.

Palestinian media reports that the Israeli military detonated several explosive-laden remote-controlled armored personnel carriers in the Gaza City neighborhoods of Tel al-Hawa and Rimal this morning.

During the war, the IDF has repurposed decommissioned M113 APCs by packing… pic.twitter.com/surtyTyL9G

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 16, 2025

This is one of the most significant battles of the IDF’s Swords of Iron operation, which began after Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, — massacring and raping civilians. More than 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children were murdered, and hundreds were abducted into Gaza.

“Two divisions are operating in the Gaza City area – divisions 162 and 98. The 36th Division will also gradually join,” the Israeli channel i24NEWS reported Tuesday. “The Chief of Staff will be commanding the forces inside the Strip from one of the divisions.”

🚨IDF is using “exploding robots" – which are actually old and autonomous IDF armored personnel carriers, sending explosive packages to detonate and destroy booby-trapped building complexes in Gaza City. During the night and the last few hours, the IDF detonated more than 20 such… https://t.co/29HPq3omIi pic.twitter.com/FO9tzmoQRp

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) September 16, 2025

The IDF, on Tuesday, revealed details of the unfolding battle plan:

In the past day, IDF troops in the Southern Command from the 98th, 162nd, and 36th Divisions, both in mandatory and reserve service, have begun expanded ground operations in Gaza City as a part of Operation “Gideon’s Chariots II”.

The Gaza Division is operating in the security zone along the border facing the western Negev communities and operating in the Rafah and Khan Yunis areas, while the 99th Division is operating in the northern Gaza Strip.

This expanded activity constitutes a direct continuation of the achievements of Operation “Gideon’s Chariots”. Its aim is to achieve the war’s objectives in the Gaza Strip and to enhance the achievements made during combat.

The troops’ activity began according to the operational plan and is expected to expand in line with the current situational assessment.

Hamas still holds 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive. Besides freeing the  Israeli captives from the clutches of the terrorists, the goal of the military operation is to “dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization’s military and administrative capabilities,” the IDF declared on its official website.

Palestinian reports of Israeli helicopters and armored vehicles firing at targets in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, northwestern Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/1BdqNfd4Wg

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) September 15, 2025

40% residents evacuate Gaza City; Israel bolsters humanitarian efforts in the south

Thanks to the IDF’s relentless efforts, nearly 40 percent of Gaza City’s one million residents have been evacuated. “The offensive was initially expected to proceed only after a mass evacuation of Gaza City, home to more than a million people, but only a fraction of residents have left, an Israeli military official said Monday,” Ynetnews reported. “About 320,000 Palestinians had fled by that point.”

While the terrorist group has been preventing and even ambushing those leaving Gaza City, several Hamas operatives were hypocritically asking Israel for ‘safe passage’ for them and their families. “Israel asserted on Sunday that, even as Hamas has urged Palestinians to stay put in Gaza City while the IDF calls on them to evacuate, several of the terror group’s leaders have submitted requests for themselves and their family members to be allowed to exit the Strip,” The Times of Israel reported Monday.

COGAT, the Israeli agency overseeing humanitarian relief work in Gaza, has stepped up efforts to deal with the Gaza City population moving to designated safe zones in the south.

“As part of the efforts to adjust the humanitarian response in the southern Gaza Strip, in recent weeks, under the leadership of COGAT, measures have been advanced to adapt the humanitarian response in the southern Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a press release on Tuesday. “Accordingly, the transfer of food, medical equipment, and shelter supplies has been increased. In addition, steps have been taken in the fields of water and medical response in the southern Gaza Strip.”

“It should be emphasized that the humanitarian infrastructure in the south is prepared for the expected population volume,” the IDF statement added.

🚚 HUMANITARIAN AID UPDATE: The IDF through @cogatonline has expanded the humanitarian response in southern Gaza.

The transfer of food, medical equipment & shelter supplies have been increased, alongside improvements in water access and medical care.

Humanitarian infrastructure… pic.twitter.com/JPn5HP71Cf

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 15, 2025

IDF hits Hezbollah headquarters in southern Lebanon, vows to repel terrorist buildup along northern border

Nearly one year after Israel’s Mossad executed the legendary pager strike, which eventually culminated in the elimination of Hezbollah’s leadership, the Iran-backed terrorist group is still trying to infiltrate southern Lebanon and rebuild its infrastructure along Israel’s northern border.

On Monday night, Israel targeted a Hezbollah base in southern Lebanon. Israeli military “struck a Hezbollah headquarters in the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said in a press statement.

The existence of the terrorist HQ violates the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement accepted by Israel in November 2024 after IDF troops entered southern Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah terrorist fighters and destroy terror infrastructure. “The presence of the headquarters in the area constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF added. “The Hezbollah terrorist organization continues its attempts to rehabilitate its terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon, while endangering Lebanon’s civilians and using them as human shields.”

🎯STRUCK: A Hezbollah headquarters in the Nabatieh area, southern Lebanon.

The presence of the headquarters in the area constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 15, 2025

Israel hits Houthi port in retaliatory strike

After repeated Houthi missile fire towards Israel, the IDF on Tuesday carried out an airstrike on a terrorist-held port in Yemen. Hodeidah, Yemen’s main port in the Red Sea, has been used to smuggle Iranian missiles and weapons for the Houthi terrorist group.

The IDF confirmed the strike and issued a prior evacuation order for the port city to minimize civilian casualties.

The Israel Defense Force has issued an “urgent” evacuation order for the entirety of the Port of Hodeida in Houthi-controlled Western Yemen, with strikes expected against the port and other nearby facilities in the coming hours. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic-language… pic.twitter.com/CSi9r0lcXD

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 16, 2025

“The Israeli military confirmed that it launched airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah in western Yemen. The operation began after an evacuation warning was issued to the local population. According to Yemeni media, Houthi air defenses are currently attempting to intercept the Israeli aircraft,” the i24NEWS reported Tuesday afternoon. “The offensive comes in retaliation for a series of missile and drone attacks by the Houthis against Israel in recent weeks.”

🎯STRUCK: A Houthi military infrastructure site at the Hudaydah Port in Yemen.

The port is used for the transfer of weapons supplied by the Iranian regime, in order to execute attacks against Israel and its allies.

The IDF continues to strike military targets in Yemen in… pic.twitter.com/Jec372Ez0O

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 16, 2025

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