The Israeli army announced Sunday evening that its forces had encircled Gaza City, separating the north and south of the Strip.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the 36th Armored Division reached the shore of Gaza City and surrounded it.
Hagari added that the Israeli army was able to divide the Strip into "northern Gaza and southern Gaza," noting that Israeli forces would deepen their ground operations there.
In the words of the Israeli spokesman, "Gaza City has now completely surrendered," calling it a "decisive step."
Haghari claimed that the 36th Division managed to kill 300 Palestinian militants and bombed 50 targets within 12 hours with artillery and air support, saying that the shelling included military sites and underground installations.
The same spokesman said civilians had yet to flee to the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli spokesman's comments come as Gaza is under unprecedented bombardment, amid a renewed communications outage.
Despite the incursion of Israeli forces into the coastal Rashid Street west of Gaza City, Israeli officials acknowledge that ground battles are difficult, as Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy expressed by saying that his forces face a cruel enemy.
In less than a week, the Israeli army acknowledged the death of 30 of its soldiers in the Gaza battles, but the Palestinian resistance confirmed that the death toll was much higher, and the occupation had vowed to make the Strip a graveyard for its soldiers.