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Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter

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Defense &
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The Big Story

Israel begins Gaza City ground offensive

The Israeli military launched its long-planned ground offensive into Gaza City on Tuesday.

The offensive escalates the nearly two-year war that has killed thousands as Israel hopes to take control of a key area in the northern part of the enclave.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said its “activity” in Gaza City started and is expected to “expand in line with the current situational assessment.”

“Its aim is to achieve the war’s objectives in Gaza and to enhance the achievements made during combat,” the IDF wrote in a post on social platform X.

Israel has been building up for the incursion in recent weeks, arguing that the takeover is necessary to bar the Palestinian militant group Hamas from organizing in the area and launching attacks. The plans have sparked pushback from the international community.

“Gaza is burning. The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” Israel Katz, the Israeli minister of defense, said Tuesday morning on X. “We will not relent, and we will not go back — until the completion of the mission.”

The IDF ordered the full evacuation of residents over the last month, telling residents to go south to a “humanitarian area,” where some Palestinians are already living in tents.

In the lead-up to the offensive, the Israeli military has detonated dozens of high-rises in Gaza, alleging the infrastructure was used by Hamas, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government, for military purposes. The Israeli military has also conducted air strikes that have intensified in recent days.

Since the offensive began on Tuesday, at least 30 bodies of people killed have been brought to the city’s Shifa Hospital, Dr. Rami Mhanna, a hospital official, said Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Last month, in preparation for the offensive, Israel called up about 60,000 reservists, while another 20,000 had their services extended.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Israel on Monday, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that the “time is running out” to negotiate an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

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Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
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First Trump administration weapons package to Ukraine approved: Report

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Rubio says US, Qatar nearing defense agreement after Israeli attack on Doha

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In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Senators grill Patel in combative hearing: 5 takeaways

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On Our Radar

Upcoming things we’re watching in and around the defense world:

The House Judiciary Committee will hold the “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation” hearing to examine the nation’s preeminent law enforcement agency, under the direction of Director Kash Patel, at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Congress moves to counter Hegseth on base names that evoke Confederacy (The Washington Post)
Senate Democrats raise concerns over Pentagon plan to use military lawyers as immigration judges (The Associated Press)
Pentagon barred senior House staffers from briefing on Venezuela boat strike (The Intercept)