Israel stages overnight ground raid into Gaza

JERUSALEM/GAZA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military announced Friday morning it had conducted another "targeted raid" into the Gaza Strip over the past day with the use of ground forces.

According to a statement released by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the troops were accompanied by fighter jets and other weapons as they entered the central Gaza Strip.

"The Israeli army entered an open area near the separation fence in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip and the Bureij camp in the central east of the Gaza Strip," Palestinian and Israeli security sources told Xinhua.

At the end of the operation, the ground troops returned to Israel. The raid was the third one that was reported by the IDF.

Israel is now preparing for a massive ground operation in the Gaza Strip, as stated by Israeli leaders and senior military officials.