The Israeli military has launched large-scale ground operations in northern and southern Gaza.

On May 18, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement on May 18, local time, saying that in the past day, under the command of the Southern Command of the Israeli Army, Israeli troops, including active duty and reserves, have launched large-scale ground operations in the north and south of the Gaza Strip as the beginning of the military operation codenamed "Gideon's Chariot". In the past week, the Israeli Air Force launched its first round of air strikes, striking more than 670 Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) military targets in the Gaza Strip, including weapons depots, underground infrastructure, anti-tank missile launchers and militants, the statement said. The statement also said that so far, Israeli forces have killed dozens of militants, dismantled military installations above and below ground, and have been deployed in several key locations in the Gaza Strip.