This answer may well be overtaken by events, but insofar there's no definitive answer, as far as I can tell. [According](https://www.vox.com/2023/10/8/23908839/israel-ground-invasion-gaza-hamas-war-2023-idf) to commentators, Netanayahu *previously* has been reluctant to engage in ground incursions, preferring air strikes. He might not be able to stick just with that this time given the magnitude of the Hamas attacks. In a previous case when Israeli troops [did go](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Gaza_War) into Gaza, i.e. 2014, their goals were mainly to find and destroy the tunnel network [parts] that could not be found & hit from the air. (Netanyahu was also PM back then, so clearly he's not completely against ground incursions.) However, this time, some Israeli army spokesperson [has](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KgLyTGbAyE) hinted at potentially broader goals, saying that Hamas cannot be allowed to stay in power or even 'live'. They've [insofar] not said however how Israel is going to achieve these desiderata, i.e. just by air or what extent of ground attacks they envisage etc. Netanyahu himself has used strong terms [like](https://youtu.be/Kd1du5aAOr4?t=48) **"defeat to death" of Hamas** (sounds a little awkward in English, maybe someone has a better translation). More recent [reports](https://youtu.be/JyIr6PDdoF8?t=28) say Israel has called "up to" 300,000 reservists and amassed troops on the border with Gaza, suggesting a large scale ground operation is going to take place, eventually. (FWTW, back in 2014, Israel [called up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2014_Gaza_War#Timeline,_weeks_1%E2%80%934_(7_July_%E2%80%93_4_August)) much fewer reservists--they announced at most 40,000 back then.) Also, the US has [called](https://www.voanews.com/a/us-calls-hamas-attack-isis-level-savagery-/7303672.html) the recent attacks by Hamas, "ISIS-level savagery", suggesting they'd greenlight a similar level of measures that they had taken against ISIS, i.e. [near] total destruction of the group and its leadership.