- The IDF says it has bombed a central Hamas rocket production site and a Hamas navy military post in the central Gaza Strip. In addition, a number of other weapons production sites have been struck throughout the day, the military says.
- Defense Minister Benny Gantz gives the military approval to call up to 9,000 reservists as needed, in light of the ongoing fighting with terror groups in the Gaza Strip, his office says. The reservists would come from combat units and command center operators, to serve in the Southern Command, Central Command, and Northern Command, so that soldiers regularly stationed there could be sent on other missions, his office says.
- Israel is amassing forces along the Gaza border to prepare for a potential ground operation, IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman says. “We are gathering forces on the Gaza border, preparing them. They are studying the field and we will use them when we decide to,” Zilberman tells Channel 12 news. A senior diplomatic source quoted by Channel 12 news says Israel is considering a ground operation in Gaza in response to the continued heavy rocket fire from the Strip. The unnamed source says the option has been discussed by the security cabinet at the military’s request and that all options are being weighed.
- The Gaza Strip will run out of fuel for its electricity generators by Sunday, an Israeli defense official tells reporters. According to the official, who is speaking on condition of anonymity, Gaza is down to having just five hours of electricity per day, after having 16 hours per day on average before the fighting. Some of this is due to Israel shutting down the Kerem Shalom Crossing, which is normally used to send fuel into Gaza, and some of this is because rockets fired by terrorists in the enclave struck some of the power lines into the Strip near the city of Rafah. According to the official, three of the four turbines that normally run in Hamas’s power plant are currently out of service as a result of the fuel shortage. Gaza’s water supply has also been affected by the power cuts, limiting the amount of running water in the Strip to once every two days, the official says. According to the Israeli defense official, residents of the Gaza Strip appear to be extremely concerned about the fighting and are largely hiding in their homes. He says there is also anger among the population because the fighting has prevented them from celebrating the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.