Israeli soldiers mounted a brief, overnight raid across the border into the Gaza Strip Thursday, according to the country’s military. Israel’s Defense Forces told the Associated Press that the incursion was part of an effort to “prepare the battlefield” for a widely-expected invasion of Gaza set to begin in the coming days—the largest of several similar missions which were meant to obliterate underground tunnels and destroy Hamas’ missile launch sites. So far, the Palestinian militant group says more than 6,700 have died in Gaza since Israel launched its counterattack, retribution for an Oct. 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas.
