It increasingly looks like Israel has launched its much-anticipated ground invasion of Gaza — but officials won’t use the I-word to describe the campaign.

Speaking to his nation Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s fight against Hamas had entered “the second stage of the war” following a decision by the war cabinet to expand ground operations in Gaza. Standing alongside Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and unity government partner Benny Gantz, Netanyahu acknowledged that what comes next will be a long, hard-fought battle.

“This is our second independence war. We’re going to save our country,” he said.

But Daniel Hagari, a military spokesperson, later framed the operation more modestly to reporters, saying the Israel Defense Forces would be “gradually increasing its ground activity in the Gaza Strip and the scale of its forces.”

The careful wording belies reports of heavy fighting by relatively small IDF units who have pushed into Gaza, supported by tanks, helicopters and air strikes. While intense, the runs are not the massive invasion the IDF has positioned itself to launch and indicate the war might be fought in smaller, targeted engagements rather than a massive push through the densely populated enclave.

Israeli officials over the last 24 hours signaled that the incursion into northern Gaza will be the first step in a multi-part operation to dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities. “The campaign will continue until further notice,” Gallant said.

The Biden administration has studiously kept quiet since Israeli forces entered and stayed in Gaza on Friday afternoon. During a news conference as the move was underway, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby repeatedly declined to confirm that a new operation was happening, pointing reporters to official Israeli statements. Moments before those remarks, IDF spokesperson Maj. Nir Dinar told POLITICO that “there are forces inside Gaza as we speak.”

Much hangs in the balance: global perceptions of Israel as it wages urban warfare that further imperils civilians; the resiliency of Hamas, which has had years to booby trap the enclave it rules; the effectiveness of President Joe Biden’s plan to back Israel publicly while pushing for a more limited military operation privately; and the fate of 230 hostages held in Gaza.

The U.S. has asked that Israel not launch an all-out invasion, fearing that it risks hostages’ lives and could lead to a spike in civilian casualties. The opening moments of the apparent campaign seem more limited — though Israeli officials insist that the war will eventually expand.

Israeli officials internally and with foreign partners discussed the possibility of delaying a large ground invasion to negotiate more hostage releases. But Gallant pushed that idea aside: “As we hit the enemy harder, there’s a better chance that the enemy will agree to solutions to return the loved ones.”

Little is known about the operation so far. An increased rate of Israeli airstrikes took telecommunications in Gaza offline, Palestinian companies said, leading to a blackout that has made it hard for residents to connect and for humanitarian organizations to coordinate aid deliveries. Most of what is known comes from official statements by the Israel Defense Forces, which deny they’re responsible for the blackout.

“Since early Friday evening, combined combat forces of armor, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement Saturday morning. “As part of the operation, IDF soldiers identified terrorist cells attempting to launch anti-tank missiles and mortar shells and struck them. IDF soldiers also identified and destroyed a booby-trapped structure.”

The IDF also said it killed the head of Hamas’ Aerial Array, Asem Abu Rakaba, and Ratib Abu Tzahiban, commander of Hamas’ Naval Forces of the Gaza City Brigade. The military added that it had struck 150 tunnels and bunkers belonging to Hamas.

“What we are seeing now in Gaza is what is termed a ‘Reconnaissance Pull,’” said Mick Mulroy, formerly a top Pentagon official for the Middle East. “This tactic is applied to large unit formations in which small elements locate and rapidly exploit enemy weakness. Once the weakness, seams and gaps are discovered, they bring in the parts of the main body of the assault.”

“Over time, we could see the entire ground force in Gaza fully engaged in fighting Hamas by this effort,” Mulroy continued.

The former head of the U.S. Central Command, retired Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, said that purposeful movements into Gaza — as opposed to a full-scale invasion — also ensure the IDF doesn’t get stretched thin.

“This is an infantry fight,” he said. “A lot is going to be put on people on the ground, not just on the front lines, but behind the front lines, ensuring that you are secure [and] that Hamas is not going to pop up in your rear and attack your command posts, your medical aid stations and your all your logistics elements.”

Hamas is equipped with thousands of gallons of fuel that can be used for vehicles and rockets, ammunition, plenty of food and water and medicine — an indication of just how long it has had to prepare for a fight like this. Before this new phase, the Gaza health ministry claimed nearly 8,000 Palestinians had been killed during Israeli retributory strikes and the siege of Gaza, which followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that saw 1,400 Israelis slain.

In his own remarks Saturday, Gallant couched the operation in stark terms, saying, “This will not be a short war. It is a long war that will require us to be strong, as individuals, as a society, as leaders. Above all, our security forces will be strong. This is a war on our home. This is a war we didn’t choose. It’s either us or them.”

The pieces are lining up for President Joe Biden to lay claim to a victory for his pro-union stance as the second of Detroit’s Big Three car companies reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers on Saturday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Stellantis notched the deal with the union following a final stretch of intense negotiations, merely days after the UAW similarly came to preliminary terms with Ford on a new four-year contract. General Motors is now the lone Detroit automaker still at the bargaining table and faces growing pressure to come to terms as its competitors’ workers return to their jobs pending ratification of their agreements.

Details of the Stellantis-UAW deal weren’t immediately available, but they are expected to closely follow Ford’s, given the union’s past practice of using its first agreement as a pattern for the other companies. Ford agreed to a 25 percent wage increase for workers across the course of the contract, along with other salary concessions.

Though the UAW members’ acceptance of the Ford and Stellantis deals is not yet assured, they are crucial steps toward ending a six-week disruption to the automotive industry and its supply chains that has cost billions of dollars.

Biden is now closer than ever to turning the page on a major concern as he begins navigating shared governance with new House Speaker Mike Johnson, just ahead of another deadline to fund the government. It eases the danger that unrest in the sprawling auto industry will be an economic drag as he makes his pitch for reelection.

The UAW called its Ford members back to work immediately after its deal was announced, and Saturday’s breakthrough will likely end the strike against Stellantis plants — whose product lines include Jeep, Ram Trucks, Dodge and Chrysler — in short order as well.

The strike began Sept. 15, with Ford and GM offering 20 percent pay increases — already up from the raises of 9 and 10 percent, respectively, that they initially proposed. The UAW also showed flexibility, moving off its original demand of 40 percent raises to mirror CEO pay growth in the last four years.

Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to use the strike’s political symbolism to their advantage.

Biden joined workers on the picket line in September, the first time in living memory a sitting president has done so. That came a day before former President Donald Trump traveled to Michigan to troll Biden and woo blue-collar votes.

But Biden has more tools at his disposal.

His administration has dispatched deputies to be a presence on the ground. White House senior adviser Gene Sperling and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su traveled to Detroit multiple times to meet with the parties, aid in the bargaining process and move negotiations forward, a Labor Department spokesperson said Thursday.

At the same time, the UAW has kept some distance between itself and the administration so as to not mire the ongoing negotiations in partisan politics — and potentially alienate some of its membership.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Saturday slammed Donald Trump directly ahead of his remarks at the Jewish Coalition Conference, attacking the former president for past and recent comments on foreign adversaries.

“There are plenty of Democrats and Republicans who fail to understand the nature of the threats we face. You’ve already heard from some of them today. And I’m not today’s last speaker,” Haley said, a nod to Trump taking the stage directly after her. Some in the crowd laughed.

Haley, taking the stage in Las Vegas amid an escalating crisis in Gaza and fears of widespread unrest in the Middle East, praised Trump for a number of foreign policy moves he made as president, including his abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal, his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his administration’s brokering of the Abraham Accords.

“History will record that Donald Trump was a pro-Israel president,” said Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration. “I’m happy to give President Trump the credit he deserves. And I was honored to have played a part in those efforts.”

But she quickly pivoted into a string of attacks, criticizing Republicans — including Trump — who question support for Ukraine today and, ultimately she said, future support for Israel. She said these politicians have lost sight of who the country’s friends versus enemies are, adding that is “not who you want in the Oval Office.”

“As Americans, we need to ask a critical question. We all know what Trump did in the past. The question is, what will he do in the future?” Haley said.

Among the other GOP 2024 candidates at the convening, Haley hit Trump the hardest, and most directly. The former South Carolina governor has seen a rise in the polls in recent months, sliding into third place behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Haley also struck Trump for his recent comments on Hezbollah and referenced previous remarks, such as the former president referring to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as his “friend” and his praising of China’s President Xi Jinping.

“These are not good or smart people. Along with Iran’s ayatollah, they’re the most evil dictators in the world. And the last thing they want is an American president who knows it and calls them out on it,” Haley said. “They want us to stay divided, distracted, and morally confused. Well, I’ve said it before. With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”

By JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, ending his campaign for the White House after struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls.

“It’s become clear to me: This is not my time,” Pence said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual gathering in Las Vegas. “So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”

“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” Pence went on to tell the friendly audience, which reacted with audible surprise to the announcement and gave him multiple standing ovations.

Pence is the first major candidate to leave a race that has been dominated by his former boss-turned-rival, Donald Trump, and his struggles underscore just how much Trump has transformed the party. A former vice president would typically be seen as a formidable challenger in any primary, but Pence has struggled to find a base of support.

Pence did not immediately endorse any of his rivals, but continued to echo language he has used to criticize Trump.

“I urge all my fellow Republicans here, give our country a Republican standard-bearer that will, as Lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our nature, and not only lead us to victory, but lead our nation with civility,” he said.

Pence’s decision, more than two months before the Iowa caucuses that he had staked his campaign on, saves him from accumulating additional debt, as well as the embarrassment of potentially failing to qualify for the third Republican primary debate, on Nov. 8 in Miami.

But his withdrawal is a huge blow for a politician who spent years biding his time as Trump’s most loyal lieutenant, only to be scapegoated during their final days in office when Trump became convinced that Pence somehow had the power to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep both men in office — a power Pence did not possess.

While Pence averted a constitutional crisis by rejecting the scheme, he drew Trump’s fury, as well as the wrath of many of Trump’s supporters, who still believed his lies about the election and see Pence as a traitor.

Among Trump critics, meanwhile, Pence was seen as an enabler who defended the former president at every turn and refused to criticize even Trump’s most indefensible actions time and again.

As a result, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research from August found that the majority of U.S. adults, 57%, viewed Pence negatively, with only 28% having a positive view.

Throughout his campaign, the former Indiana governor and congressman had insisted that while he was well-known by voters, he was not “known well” and set out to change that with an aggressive schedule that included numerous stops at diners and Pizza Ranch restaurants.

Pence had been betting on Iowa, a state with a large white Evangelical population that has a long history of elevating religious and socially conservative candidates such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Rick Santorum. Pence often campaigned with his wife, Karen, a Christian school teacher, and emphasized his hard-line views on issues such as abortion, which he opposes even in cases when a pregnancy is unviable. He repeatedly called on his fellow candidates to support a minimum 15-week national ban and he pushed to ban drugs used as alternatives to surgical procedures.

He tried to confront head-on his actions on Jan. 6, 2021 , explaining to voters over and over that he had done his constitutional duty that day, knowing full well the political consequences. It was a strategy that aides believed would help defuse the issue and earn Pence the respect of a majority of Republicans, whom they were were convinced did not agree with Trump’s actions.

But even in Iowa, Pence struggled to gain traction.

He had an equally uphill climb raising money, despite yearslong relationships with donors. Pence ended September with just $1.18 million in the bank and $621,000 in debt, according to his most recent campaign filing. That debt had grown in the weeks since and adding to it would have taken Pence, who is not independently wealthy, years pay off.

The Associated Press first reported earlier this month that people close to Pence had begun to feel that remaining a candidate risked diminishing his long-term standing in the party, given Trump’s dominating lead in the race for the 2024 nomination. While they said Pence could stick it out until the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses if he wanted — campaigning on a shoestring budget and accumulating debt — he would have to consider how that might affect his ability to remain a leading voice in the conservative movement, as he hopes.

Some said that Hamas’ attack on Israel in October, which pushed foreign policy to the forefront of the campaign, had given Pence a renewed sense of purpose given his warnings throughout the campaign against the growing tide of isolationism in the Republican Party. Pence had argued that he was the race’s most experienced candidate and decried “voices of appeasement” among Republican, arguing they had emboldened groups such as Hamas.

But ultimately, Pence concluded that he could continue to speak out on the issue without continuing the campaign. He chose the Las Vegas event to announce his decision, in part, so he could address the topic one last time before formally leaving the race.

He is expected to remain engaged, in part through Advancing American Freedom, the conservative think tank he founded after leaving the vice presidency and that he envisions it as an alternative to the The Heritage Foundation.

Pence’s group is expected to continued to advocate for policies that he supported in his run, including pushing for more U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion and proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare to rein in the debt. Such ideas were once the bread-and-butter of Republican establishment orthodoxy but have fallen out of a favor as the party has embraced Trump’s isolationist and populist views.

___ Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas contributed to this report.