The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have reported they completely encircled the city of Gaza and divided the coastal enclave in half.

Source: Daniel Hagari, spokesperson of IDF, Herzi Halevi, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, as reported by The Times of Israel

Details: Hagari stated that the IDF have completely encircled the city of Gaza and divided the Gaza Strip in half.

The Israeli forces headed by a reconnaissance unit of the Holani brigade "reached the coastline and are holding it".

"Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza," Hagari reported.

He noted that like before, the IDF will allow civilians to flee from the northern part of Gaza and go southwards.

Herewith, General Staff Chief Halevi stated that the Israeli military are "ready at any moment to go on the offense in the north" of the country since during the last few weeks they have been defending themselves from daily missile attacks from the Lebanese Hezbollah.

"We set a goal of restoring a significantly better security situation on the borders, not only in the Gaza Strip," Halevi said during the assessment in the 210th Division in the north of Israel.

"We are ready at any moment to go on the offense in the north. We understand that it can happen, and we trust you that the defense here is strong," he added.