According to sources at the White House, President Trump is expected to travel to Israel next month before his planned trip to the UK.

NOW - Netanyahu declares Israeli ground invasion of Gaza "the best way to end the war." He stated, "Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza."

❗️🇮🇱 Al-Hadath releases visuals of ongoing Israeli military exercises north of Gaza city.

🇮🇱⚡- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to address his nation tonight.

A snap Israeli military drill today simulated a multifront attack on Israel, with an emphasis on a ground invasion from the Jordanian border.

The exercise began at 5:30 a.m., after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered a surprise inspection of the military's top headquarters to test their readiness.

The military says the inspection, led by IDF Comptroller Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Sarig, examined the headquarters' "emergency order of battle, and the ability to handle a sudden, large-scale, complex, multifront event," as part of the "implementation of lessons learned from the events of October 7."

According to military officials, the scenario involved a simultaneous ground invasion from the Jordanian border at three points; a explosive drone attack on the Ramon Airport in southern Israel; two shooting attacks in the West Bank, with one of the cells reaching Israel's Route 6 highway; rocket fire on the north; a drone attack from Yemen on an off-shore gas field; and missile fire from Iran.

The entire drill lasted five hours, with Zamir touring the headquarters of the Operations Directorate, Israeli Air Force, and Israeli Navy, alongside Sarig and his representatives from the IDF Comptroller Unit.

Officers involved in the drill say that one of the main issues that emerged was the rate at which troops and the air force were deployed to defend the Jordanian border.

The IDF is still examining how many troops it will need for the planned upcoming offensive against Hamas in Gaza City, according to military officials.

Military officials say it may take at least another week to complete the general outline of the plans, and from there the IDF will know how many troops are required, and for how long.

Regardless, reservists will need to be drafted, for the offensive itself and/or in order to swap out standing army forces in other fronts, the officials say.

The IDF says the two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel earlier today struck open areas.

Unsuccessful interception attempts were made.

No injuries were caused in the attack.

The IDF says it foiled another attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Egypt using a drone earlier today.

The drone had been identified crossing the border from Egypt into Israel before it was downed.

Troops located the drone, which was found to be ferrying ten rifles, the military says, adding that the contraband and drone were handed over to the police.

In the past year, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Egypt border using drones. There have also been attempts to smuggle similar contraband from Israel into Gaza using drones.

A Hezbollah operative involved in collecting intelligence on Israeli troops was killed in an airstrike in southern Lebanon's Aynata earlier today, the IDF says.

The military says the operative's actions were a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

🚨BREAKING - Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv are reportedly breaking in to the studios of Channel 13 asking Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire and negotiate the release of the hostages.

🚨BREAKING - Smotrich has reportedly lost trust in Netanyahu to lead the country against Hamas

❗️🇮🇱 UPDATE - The call up of reserve troops is expected to be extensive aimed at securing Gaza city

🚨BREAKING - The Israeli government will tomorrow issue call up letters for reserve troops - Channel 13

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held an assessment with senior officers at the Southern Command this morning, after last night's security cabinet decision to capture Gaza City.

As part of the assessment, the officers discussed "the current fighting situation and the formulation of plans and preparations for the continuation of the fighting in the Gaza Strip," the IDF says.

"The chief of staff noted that in the coming days the IDF will deepen operational planning with professionalism... with the aim of creating conditions for the return of the hostages and the collapse of the Hamas regime," the military adds.

Gaza 👀 👁

The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to conquer and full occupy Gaza City.

🇵🇸🇮🇱 - The Israeli security cabinet meeting on the Gaza annexation plan has been ongoing for over 7 hours now.

🇱🇧⚡️More visuals from Lebanon

👀🇱🇧 Hezbollah operatives now riding like maniacs on the streets after they were told to disarm.

🚨BREAKING - Hezbollah operatives come out in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon to protest the adoption of the motion calling them to Disarm.

❗️🇱🇧 The next coming days are going to be interesting

❗️🇱🇧 The coming days for Lebanon are going to be dark - Hezbollah official

🚨BREAKING - Hezbollah has rejected the cabinet's decision, saying President Aoun "cannot" make such a call in the absence of Hezbollah-Amal ministers.

🚨BIG BREAKING NEWS

The Lebanese cabinet has approved the termination of the armed presence, including Hezbollah and Amal, across all Lebanese territories - statement issued from the cabinet

The military wing of Hamas says it is "ready to positively engage and respond to any request by the Red Cross to bring food and medicine" to the hostages it is holding, which the terror group refers to as "enemy prisoners."

The Red Cross has not been allowed any access to the hostages during 22 months of war, and has faced heavy criticism from Israel over its failure to do so.

Earlier, the Red Cross, following a demand issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the hostages must urgently receive the medical care and attention they require."

The spokesman for Hamas's military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, says the terror group is conditioning the Red Cross's access to the hostages "on the opening of humanitarian corridors in a normal and permanent manner for the passage of food and medicine to all our people in all areas of the Gaza Strip, and the cessation of all forms of enemy aerial activity during the times of parcel deliveries to the prisoners."

"The Al-Qassam Brigades do not deliberately starve the prisoners, but they eat what our mujahideen (fighters) and the general public eat, and they will not receive any special privilege amid the crime of starvation and siege," says Hudhaifa Kahlout, known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida.

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for this afternoon's attempted drone attack on Israel.

In a statement, the Houthis claim to have launched three drones at Israel, targeting "Zionist enemy military targets" in Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, and Haifa.

According to the IDF, only one drone reached Israel, and it was shot down by the Israeli Air Force over the Egyptian border, near the community of Bnei Netzarim where sirens had sounded.

The other two drones likely fell short before reaching the country.

For your information:
*The UN Security Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday morning (10 AM New York time) regarding the situation of the hostages in Gaza following the initiative of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar.*

❗️🇮🇱 Netanyahu now - The situation in Gaza is "difficult"

❗️🇮🇱 UPDATE - Netanyahu has told his cabinet minister's that the Trump Administration has green lighted the annexation plan.

❗️🇮🇱 UPDATE - Netanyahu's plan calls for giving Hamas several days to agree to a ceasefire or begin annexing parts of Gaza

🚨BREAKING - Netanyahu will propose to the security and political cabinets annexing parts of the Gaza Strip to keep Smotrich in the government - Haaretz

❗️🇮🇱 Initial reports of an ambush attack against IDF soldiers in Gaza, the Israeli media claims multiple soldiers have been injured, including 1 in critical condition.

🚨BREAKING - Israeli PM Netanyahu & Russian President Putin held a phone call regarding Iran's nuclear program

👀 I would be keeping a very close eye on Gaza for the coming next few weeks!

Two IDF soldiers were killed and an officer was moderately wounded by an explosive device in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

The slain soldiers are named as:

Cpt. Amir Saad, 22, a Technology and Maintenance Corps officer serving in the Golani Brigade's reconnaissance unit, from Yanuh-Jat.

Sgt. Inon Nuriel Vana, 20, a Technology and Maintenance Corps soldier serving in the Golani Brigade's reconnaissance unit, from Kiryat Tiv'on.

The wounded Golani reconnaissance unit officer was taken to a hospital in moderate condition, the army says.

According to an initial IDF probe, the soldiers were inside a Namer armored personnel carrier that was hit by an explosive device, during operations in Khan Younis.

The military says it is continuing to investigate how the bomb was detonated against the APC.

Katz threatens again to open the gates of hell on Gaza if no deal is reached

🇺🇸🇱🇧🇮🇱⚡- Hezbollah have informed the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, that the organization will not agree to surrender its weapons, even if Israel withdraws its troops from southern Lebanon, reported by Saudi outlet al-Arabiya.

According to the outlet, despite Berri representing Hezbollah's ally the Amal Movement, Hezbollah has expressed readiness to confront the Lebanese state. Berri has told US Envoy Barrack that while Hezbollah have disarmed south of the Litani River, he cannot cannot promise that the organization will disarm north of the river.

🇵🇸🇮🇱⚡- Israeli Knesset votes in favor of "applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank."

71 voted in favor.
13 voted against.