Ahead of the resumption of fighting, the commander of a combat helicopter squadron and the squadron's staff entered the Gaza Strip last week in order to examine the ground upon the resumption of fighting, according to news reporter Shelly Tapiero.
Yesterday, the IDF spokesman announced that from the beginning of the fighting until today, the Air Force has carried out about 10,000 airstrikes directed by the forces on the ground, in short periods of time. The forces closed circles and thwarted terrorist cells, terrorist infrastructures, operational apartments, tunnel shafts, weapons depots and more.
In recent days, the fighting in the Gaza Strip has resumed, and the IDF forces have returned to maneuver in full cooperation with the Air Force's aircraft. The cooperation between the ground forces and the Air Force forces is one of the prominent elements in the maneuvering of the IDF's ground forces in the Gaza Strip.
Air Force Commander Tomer Bar explained, "The ability to use the air dimension in the maneuver is an excellent thing that we dreamed of for years and I think we succeeded because if you look at the triangle of the achievement, look at how many Hamas operatives we killed with this method and I also suggest looking at how many casualties we spared in the pattern of action."