Israel appeared to be readying its expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip early Friday, with a large border town evacuated and fleets of tanks lining up on the border where hundreds of thousands of soldiers are already camped out.
Israeli officials have been warning for days that it will soon launch its ground invasion, as they massed at least 300,000 troops along the border in response to Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, when the terrorist organization killed at least 1,400 people — mostly civilians — and took more than 200 others hostage, the Voice of America reports.
Speaking to those troops Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said they would soon see Gaza “from the inside.
“Whoever sees Gaza from afar will soon see it from the inside,” he said. “The order will come.”
Gallant’s meeting with troops came as Economy Minister Nir Barkat announced that the Israel Defense Forces had been given a “green light” to bring the offensive to Gaza — a roughly 140-square-mile parcel of land between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea.
Israeli officials have been warning for days that it will launch its ground invasion, as they massed at least 300,000 troops along the border. REUTERS
Israel appeared to have fleets of tanks lining up on the border where hundreds of thousands of soldiers were already camped out, according to reports.
REUTERS
“We shall [make] all efforts to bring our hostages, to bring our hostages [back] alive,” he insisted to ABC News while acknowledging that the “first and last priority” is destroying Hamas.
The terrorist group has claimed it is holding about 203 Israeli hostages within the network of tunnels it built underneath Gaza — which Barkat vowed will become the “world’s biggest cemetery.”
As tanks appeared at the ready Friday, there were also reports of heavy airstrikes hitting Gaza, where Israel says it has struck more than 100 targets linked to Hamas, including a tunnel and arms depots.
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Israel has evacuated its own communities near Gaza and Lebanon, putting residents up in hotels elsewhere in the country.
The Defense Ministry announced evacuation plans Friday for Kiryat Shmona, a town of more than 20,000 residents near the Lebanese border.
The IDF is intent on decimating the terrorist group “even if it takes a year” — with hostages and civilian casualties taking a backseat, Barkat explained.
Israel has evacuated its own communities near Gaza and Lebanon, putting residents up in hotels elsewhere in the country. Jim Hollander/UPI/Shutterstock
Israeli officials have been adamant that they have no choice but to launch the massive assault, codenamed Operation Swords of Iron.
Since Hamas seized power in the region 16 years ago, they argue, Israel has fought three major conflicts.
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But each of those operations was aimed at keeping Hamas in check, rather than destroying the terrorist group as they are now planning.
“The strategy was to have a longer gap every time between the different conflicts, but it failed and it cannot happen anymore,” an unidentified senior IDF official told the Guardian.
As tanks appeared at the ready Friday, there were reports of heavy airstrikes hitting Gaza, where Israel says it has struck more than 100 targets linked to Hamas.
REUTERS
Israeli officials have been adamant they have no choice but to launch the massive assault, codenamed Operation Swords of Iron, according to reports.REUTERS
“So the only conclusion is that we have to go in, we have to go in and clear it and eliminate Hamas from the roots, not only militarily, but also economically, its administration.”
“Everything should go away.”
“That’s the idea now, and we are getting prepared for that,” the official said.
Hamas made a surprise attack on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostage, reports say. AP
“We shall [make] all efforts to bring our hostages, to bring our hostages [back] alive,” Economy Minister Nir Barkat told news outlets.
AP
“It won’t be as clear cut and it won’t be as short as we would like as Israelis. It will be a prolonged campaign. It will take time.”
As part of the ground invasion, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi instructed troops to find and destroy the hideouts used by Hamas as they try to target top Hamas officials, the Times of London reports.
At the top of the target list is Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, and Mohammed Deif, the head of the al-Qassam Brigades — the military arm of Hamas.
Barkat also acknowledged while speaking with ABC News that the “first and last priority” is destroying Hamas. AFP via Getty Images
But as the Israeli forces enter the Palestinian-controlled land, Hamas will likely adopt terrorist tactics like positioning snipers in the windows of apartment blocks, using tripwires to set off IEDs, dropping grenades on armored vehicles, and disguising their members as civilians, according to Gen. Sir Richard Barrons, the veteran British commander of counter-insurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He told the UK Times that “the chances of being so successful that they destroy Hamas entirely are very slim indeed.
“The chances of deepening the conflict around Israel and Gaza are already much greater,” he warned. “Hamas intended to do that.”