The 2023 Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip was a military offensive undertaken by the Israel Defense Forces against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in October 2023 as the second phase of Operation Iron Swords.
Following Hamas' "al-Aqsa Flood" offensive into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,400 Israelis in the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Hamas, vowing to destroy the militant group forever. Israel moved to mobilize 300,000 reservists and deployed armor close to the border with the Gaza Strip, with Merkava tanks and Namer APCs being amassed at staging points on the border. Israel called for more than one million Palestinian civilians in the northern half of the Gaza Strip to evacuate south of the Wadi Gaza, but Hamas instructed those residents to stay put, intent on using them as human shields. Israel's severance of electricity, water, and fuel from Gaza hampered aid groups' abilities to reach the residents of North Gaza, while many Palestinians feared that, if they left their homes, Israel would not let them return once the war was over. On 21 October, Israel dropped a new round of leaflets in Gaza warning the residents of North Gaza that they may be identified as terrorists if they remained north of the Wadi Gaza. By then, the humanitarian situation neared catastrophe, as indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes on Gaza killed thousands of civilians, while starvation, dehydration, and disease proliferated.
Starting on 13 October 2023, the IDF sent armored vehicles and infantry to conduct localized raids in the Gaza Strip, with the objective of attacking Hamas militants and rescuing hostages. The IDF located and retrieved Israeli remains from Gaza in this raid and in ensuing probing attacks. From 25 to 26 October, the Givati Brigade and the 162nd Armored Division carried out another raid, followed by a 27 October follow-up raid in Shuja'iyya.
On 27 October, Israel launched its largest offensive yet, initiating a large-scale ground assault on the towns of Beit Hanoun and Bureij, while denying that the main offensive had taken place. Israeli airstrikes cut off mobile communications and internet access in much of Gaza, forcing the UN to shut down many of its operations in the strip, and causing news outlets and aid organizations to lose contact with their local operatives. On 28 October, Israel confirmed that its units were still on the ground in Gaza, and Netanyahu announced that Israel was expanding its ground operations, and that "the second phase of the war has begun."
The IDF advanced on three axes as airstrikes and artillery bombardments increased in intensity. On 29 October, Israeli soldiers raised their flag in the town of as-Siafa. On 30 October, Israeli tanks blocked the major Salah al-Din Road and blasted any vehicle that tried to go along it, while additional tanks moved into the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza. However, Hamas official Salama Maarouf claimed that the Israeli tanks had retreated from the outskirts of Gaza City, and that "what happened on Salah al-Din Street was the incursion of a few occupation army tanks and a bulldozer...the resistance forced them to retreat...and citizen movement has returned to normal on the road." On 30 October, Israeli jets struck more than 600 targets in 24 hours, up from 450 the previous day. Israel claimed to have killed dozens of Hamas fighters in overnight clashes after the terrorists barricaded themselves inside buildings and tunnels. One Israeli fighter jet targeted a building which was said to house over 20 Hamas terrorists, while another fighter jet was guided to an antitank missile launching post in the area of al-Azhar University at the heart of Gaza City. The Israeli Air Force hit weapons depots, dozens of anti-tank missile launching positions, and hideouts and staging grounds used by Hamas. That same day, the Israeli military killed Hamas Central Brigade naval commander Jamil Baba, anti-tank missile unit commander Muhammad Safadi, anti-tank missile unit senior operative Muwaman Hijazi, and production department senior operative Muhammad Awdallah.
On 31 October, Israeli bombardment completely destroyed the Jabalia refugee camp after a series of airstrikes, with that day's strike killing more than 50 people and forcing the Indonesian Hospital to shut down due to fuel shortages. Meanwhile, Israeli tanks crossed from Gaza City's eastern side to the southeast towards the coastal road, potentially dividing northern Gaza from the south. The IDF engaged in street-to-street and "face-to-face" battles during intense combat, with Hamas claiming that Israeli tanks were getting bogged down and that the IDF was taking heavy losses. Israeli tanks crossed the village of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, killing local Hamas commander Nasim Abu Ajina, before stationing at al-Nasr Street, another main road in Gaza. Dozens of Hamas fighters were killed, while Israeli squeezed Gaza City with advances from the north and east. Later that same day, the Givati Brigade captured a Hamas stronghold in west Jabaliya, killing around 50 Hamas terrorists at the training and operational base for the Jabaliya Battalion; the brigade's leader Ibrahim Biari was killed in an airstrike on the nearby refugee camp, which killed another 50 civilians and left the entire camp in ruins.

Israeli APCs in Gaza
On 1 November 2023, Israel announced that it had succeeded in breaching Hamas' front line in Gaza through advance planning, precise intelligence, and joint attacks. At the same time, Israel announced the death of Hamas' anti-tank system commander Muhammad Atzar, while admitting that 16 soldiers had been killed since the start of the ground offensive. By 2 November, the IDF had completely surrounded Gaza City, and the siege of Gaza City ensued as IDF troops pushed into Hamas' stronghold. On 9 November 2023, Israel agreed to daily four-hour fighting pauses to allow for civilians to evacuate Gaza as the bombing of bakeries and hospitals created a humanitarian disaster. Starting on 10 November, Israel besieged the al-Shifa and al-Quds Hospitals, raiding the al-Shifa Hospital on 15 November after coming to believe that it was home to an underground Hamas command center. While the Israelis did find a tunnel shaft in the complex and a few weapons, they only found a single dead hostage and no evidence that the Hamas' main stronghold was located under the hospital.
By 16 November, however, Israel declared control of the northern part of Gaza, claiming that Hamas had essentially lost control of the region due to the IDF's operations and Gazan civilians' looting of their outposts. By the morning of 17 November, Israel was expected to launch a ground offensive into the southern part of the Gaza Strip, as Israel dropped leaflets east of Khan Yunis warning people there to move to "known shelters" at al-Qarrah, Khuza'a, Bani Suhaila, and Absaan. Israel also besieged the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, the last functioning major hospital in the city, even as the UN called for Israel to cease its attacks on hospitals (ignoring or dismissing Israeli concerns about Hamas utilizing them as military bases). On 22 November, however, the Israeli cabinet agreed to a Qatari-mediated deal under which 50 women and children held hostage by Hamas would be released in exchange for a four-day pause in the fighting and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners. The truce expired on 1 December after Hamas resumed its rocket attacks on Israel, and Israel announced the expansion of its ground operations to all of Gaza, killing 700 Palestinians in airstrikes on 3 December alone.