Commander of the 98th Division, Brigadier General Guy Levy, told forces at the beginning of the expanded maneuver in northern Gaza Strip that the IDF is launching "a powerful attack on the Hamas stronghold in Gaza City, with the new year ahead of us and behind us the people of Israel and the residents of the Gaza envelope who are returning to their homes." The IDF statement said that the maneuvering forces entered with air and sea fire support on the divisional attack area. As part of the fire envelope, dozens of terror infrastructure targets were attacked, including military buildings, observation posts and booby-trapped buildings intended to harm forces operating in the area.