October 2, 2026
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Israel sent more ground troops into the Gaza Strip on Friday to ramp up its offensive against the Hamas terrorist group. On Friday, Israel said it had begun ground activity in northern Gaza, in order to expand its security zone.
Israel’s military had issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza before expected ground operations. The U.N. humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month.
In recent days, Israel vowed to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it.
To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel, and humanitarian aid. Israel said earlier this week that enough food had entered Gaza during a six-week truce to sustain the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians for a long time.
Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.
Israel said Friday that it had killed a top Hamas commander in a strike in Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon. Israel said that Hassan Farhat was a commander of Hamas’ western area in Lebanon and that he was responsible for numerous terror attacks against Israel, including one in February 2024, which killed an Israeli soldier and injured others.
The war began when Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of Israel's offensive, according to claims by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants.
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