The Israeli army says it trained for the ground attack against Gaza City for 18 months.
A military spokesman said on Sunday a model of the main city had been built at an army base in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
He told Israeli public television that the soldiers "know all the back streets where their targets are."
Ground forces entered Gaza on 3 January after a week of bombing.
Meanwhile, an official in Jerusalem says the army confiscated thousands of mobile phones from soldiers before the launch of the ground offensive.
They were ordered to hand them over six hours before the start of the operation on Saturday, in order to keep the impending attack secret.
The military censor's office also banned publication by the media of the start of the offensive until two hours after it began.
