Former PMs release statement on Hamas, Keating abstains

Israeli troops clashed with Hamas for the first time since the ground offensive began in an ambush from its network of tunnels in northern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed several terrorists after spotting them “exiting the shaft of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip” near the Erez Crossing that was stormed on Oct 7.

Israel later said it believed the militants were attempting to cross the border into Israel for another surprise attack.

Smoke rises from northern Gaza after an Israeli airstrike. New York Times

Hamas said its militants clashed with Israeli troops as they entered the northwest Gaza Strip, using small arms and anti-tank missiles against the armoured convoy.

Guided by troops on the ground Israeli aircraft also struck two Hamas staging posts, killing several Hamas members, the IDF claimed.

Israel intensified its war with Gaza over the weekend, sending in troops and tanks on Friday night as part of a ground operation aimed at destroying Hamas.

But it stopped short of a full invasion of its forces massing on the Gaza border.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said on Sunday that movement into Gaza would be a “gradual expansion”.