Israel has started its ground operation in Gaza

The Israeli army started their complete ground operation in Gaza on Friday. They sent tanks, bulldozers, infantrymen, and combat engineers into the area.

But instead of moving quickly towards Gaza City, Israeli forces have been moving slowly towards the enclave’s most populated area.

Based on videos, photos, and reports from CNN teams at the scene, it seems that Israeli forces entered three main areas across the border.

The first one is located at the top left corner of the strip. On Saturday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shared a video showing bulldozers moving sand near the seashore. There is a hole in the fence surrounding Gaza, and it seems like Israeli vehicles have entered through it.

However, there are also signs that Israeli forces are near the ocean in a more southern area than this. On Sunday, a video went around showing Israeli soldiers holding a flag on top of a vacation hotel. CNN identified the location of the hotel as Atatra, which is about two miles south of the fence.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army shared pictures of soldiers going further into the Strip, close to the Al Shati, or Beach, refugee camp. This means they are now only about three miles away from the center of Gaza City.

Israeli forces seem to have entered Gaza from the northeast corner of the Strip near the town of Beit Hanoun, according to videos and satellite images. A video shared by the Israeli military and found by CNN shows many soldiers walking on sandy ground. In another part of the video, a large machine called a bulldozer clears a path in the sand to remove dangerous explosives.

Videos show empty buildings that are badly damaged because of the Israeli airstrikes before the ground operation. There are no people shown in the video, which means they either left or went away before the Israeli military came. However, a news team from CNN that was close to the Israeli border heard occasional gunfire from machine guns, and on Tuesday morning they heard multiple explosions coming from the same place.

The CNN team said that there are more Israeli military vehicles in the area, and it seems like the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have extended their ground operation.

Finally, on Monday, a new video was found suggesting that there might be another way to enter about 10 miles down to the south, on the eastern side. The video, recorded by a Palestinian journalist named Yousif Al Saifi, showed an Israeli tank shooting at a car on the main road in Gaza Strip called Salah Al Din road.

CNN found the exact location of the video near the Netzarim junction, which is named after an Israeli settlement. Israel sees this location as important to control, as it helps separate the north and south parts of Gaza.

The junction is located near Gaza City and close to Wadi Gaza, a waterway. Israel has advised people in Gaza to move south to Wadi Gaza for safety from attacks.