TIP OF THE SPEAR Israel punches at least 13 tanks into Gaza in most daring raid yet as Netanyahu ‘DEFIES US to press ahead with invasion’

A SWARM of Israeli tanks stormed into northern Gaza last night to "prepare the battlefield" as Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the invasion.

The Israeli prime minister promised to soon "extract the full price from those murders" amid reports President Biden told him to delay their full-scale attack.

The IDF said today that a column of tanks, troops and bulldozers wiped out "numerous" Hamas terrorist cells during their hours-long "targeted raid" overnight.

After two weeks of devastating airstrikes, their newest mission was to "prepare the battlefield" ahead of a full-scale ground invasion, the IDF said.

The footage showed Israel's bulldozers clearing the way for armoured vehicles to cross the border before a huge column of tanks roll down a road.

Tanks can then be seen firing on several targets "in preparation for the next stages of combat".

It follows with a huge plume of smoke pouring into the night sky as Israeli troops blast a target near a built-up area.

It's understood that Israeli forces are preparing the ground in Gaza by making sure entry points aren't mined, wiping out Hamas outposts, and gathering intelligence.

The IDF said that their tanks and infantry successfully destroyed "numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts".

Israel's Army Radio said it was the biggest incursion so far in the war as Israel claims to be be ready for the "next stage of war".

However, the US has reportedly made a request for more time to get its defences in place.

American officials allegedly tried to persuade IDF forces to hold off until they can deliver a dozen advanced air defence systems to the region to protect their troops, according to The Wall Street Journal.

US officials believe their troops stationed in the Middle East could be targeted by Hamas and other terror groups once Israel tanks and troops invade Gaza.

In Iraq and Syria there have been at least 13 attacks using drones and missiles, which resulted in the death of one US soldier and injuries to dozens.

On Wednesday, PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned "all Hamas militants are doomed" and that people are working "around the clock" on Israel's security.

He warned that the country is "getting prepared" for the full-scale invasion and claimed his military had already "eliminated thousands of terrorists".

He vowed to do everything in his power to return hostages back to their families before launching their ground offensive.

But the PM refused to provide details of "when and how" the ground offensive will take place.

"I want to make it very clear, the timing of the operation of the IDF is unanimously determined by the cabinet that runs the war along with the chief of the general staff," he said. 

"We work in order to secure the best optimal conditions for their next operations."

He also declared that he will be held accountable for Hamas's bloody rampage into Southern Israel - but only after the terrorists were defeated.

"We will get to the bottom of what happened," he said. "Everyone will have to give answers, including me."

It's thought that Israel's long-awaited invasion of Gaza could begin as early as this week.

And as the conflict threatens to spread across the region, there are fears among some experts that it could spiral out into an all-out world war.

Last night's raid is not the first time Israeli soldiers and tanks have entered Gaza since the October 7 attacks when Hamas gunmen poured into Israel, slaughtering 1,400 people and kidnapping hundreds more.

A series of lightning-fast Israeli incursions into the strip have taken place the past weeks to weaken Hamas's defensive positions and clear a path for troops when the time comes.

Israel has already massed tanks, called up over 360,000 troops, and evacuated its own civilians from the border areas.

Officials are also desperately trying to free some 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas inside Gaza.

It's feared many of the captives are being held in Hamas' mysterious 311-mile maze of underground tunnels that freed hostage Yocheved Lifshitz described as a "spider web".

Israel's ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, warned the operation against Hamas will be complicated and costly - especially when it comes to tunnel warfare.

"Hamas used all the humanitarian aid that went into Gaza in the last few years to build this underground tunnel city," she told Sky News.

"Every tunnel cost $3m [£2.5m] - altogether, Israel exposed over 30 tunnels.

"$100m [£82m] in humanitarian aid could have been supplied to the Gaza people - but no, Hamas created this war machine, this horrific underground metro."

An intelligence expert told The Sun that the only way to destroy the maze of tunnels will be to bombard them from the air, before storming in all guns blazing.

Dr Matthew Levitt, a counter-terrorism expert from The Washington Institute, said that the result will be brutal - but it must be done.

Meanwhile, Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip with renewed intensity as their expected ground invasion looms ever-nearer.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said that at least 750 people were killed over the past 24 hours, higher than the 704 called the previous day.

Over 6,500 are said to have been killed in the bloody conflict so far.

The UN has warned Gaza - which has been under a complete siege for weeks - is on the verge of running out of medicine, food, water and fuel, hampering relief efforts in the enclave.

About 1.4 million of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have fled their homes, with nearly half of them crowded into U.N. shelters.

Hundreds of thousands remain in northern Gaza, despite Israel ordering them to evacuate to the south, saying those who remain might be considered accomplices of Hamas.

In recent days, Israel let more than 60 trucks with aid enter from Egypt, which aid workers say is vastly insufficient.

It comes as Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden confirmed he will be chairing a COBRA meeting to discuss the Brits currently being held hostage by Hamas.

At least five UK nationals are missing and ten have been killed.

Dowden said Britain is calling for a pause in the war between Israel and Hamas so humanitarian aid can enter Gaza - but not a ceasefire.

"We shouldn't be saying to the Israel government 'you've got to stop action' in a way that wouldn't enable it to eliminate this threat," he told Sky News.