Israel prepares for a ground offensive as President Biden condemns the 'sheer evil' of the Hamas attacks.
Israel prepares for a ground offensive as President Biden condemns the 'sheer evil' of the Hamas attacks.
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| Israel prepares for a ground offensive as President Biden condemns the 'sheer evil' of the Hamas attacks. |
Israel reported that its fighter jets conducted strikes on more than 200 targets overnight in a neighborhood of Gaza City, which it claimed had been used by Hamas to initiate their unprecedented wave of attacks. Gaza's health ministry has reported a tragic toll of at least 900 deaths and 4,600 injuries in the densely populated area. On Saturday, Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip launched a rampage in parts of southern Israel, resulting in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel's history.
Israel's military reported a death toll of 1,200 and more than 2,700 individuals wounded. Military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus conveyed the grave nature of the situation, stating, "We have sustained extremely heavy casualties," in a video briefing on X, formerly known as Twitter. Regrettably, the victims were overwhelmingly civilians, many of whom were shot in their homes, on the streets, or at an outdoor dance party. Scores of Israelis and others from abroad were captured and taken to Gaza as hostages, with some of these incidents documented on social media.
Hamas militants who are holding Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage have threatened to execute a captive for each home in Gaza hit without warning. However, as night fell on Tuesday, there was no indication that this threat had been carried out.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, while speaking to soldiers near the Gaza fence, stated, "Hamas wanted a change, and it will get one.
What was in Gaza will no longer be." "We started the offensive from the air; later on, we will also come from the ground.
We've been controlling the area since Day 2, and we are on the offensive. It will only intensify." Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, and it has maintained a blockade since Hamas seized power there in 2007.
The siege, which was announced on Monday, includes restricting the entry of food and fuel. On Israel's northern border, rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into Israel, prompting Israeli shelling in response, as reported by three security sources.
Additionally, shells launched from Syrian territory landed in open areas in Israel, further raising concerns that the violence could lead to a broader conflict. "We do not yet know if these rockets were fired by the Syrian armed forces, by any of the many Iranian militias that exist and are welcomed by the Syrian regime, or Hezbollah or any other action," said Israel's Lieutenant Colonel Conricus.
"What we do know is that we retaliated fire toward the sources of fire, and currently the situation there is quiet."
At the White House, President Biden referred to the Hamas attacks as "an act of sheer evil" and announced that Washington was expediting additional military assistance to Israel, including ammunition and interceptors for replenishing the Iron Dome aerial defense system.
He called for Israel to adhere to the "law of war" in its response. He also dispatched his top diplomat, Antony Blinken, to Israel, who will deliver "a message of solidarity and support," as stated by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition and opposition leaders were close to forming an emergency unity government.
A meeting scheduled between Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz for Tuesday was delayed to Wednesday. 'NO PLACE IS SAFE' Israel's military reported that its forces, backed by a helicopter and drones, engaged with militants inside Israeli territory late on Tuesday.
The soldiers killed three militants in the incident in Ashkelon, near an oil terminal located just over 10 km (6 miles) from the Gaza Strip, which has been shut down in the wake of the attacks.
Palestinian media indicated that Israeli airstrikes struck homes in Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis, and the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. One of the homes struck belonged to the father of Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas' armed wing in Gaza. Residents reached out for help on social media, reporting that many buildings had collapsed, sometimes trapping as many as 50 people inside, with rescue workers unable to reach them.
The United Nations has reported that more than 180,000 Gazans have been rendered homeless, with many seeking refuge on streets or in schools. In Gaza's Khan Younis hospital morgue, bodies were found on the ground on stretchers, with names written on their bellies.
Medics urged relatives to promptly collect the bodies because there was no more space for the deceased. "No place is safe in Gaza, as you see they hit everywhere," said Ala Abu Tair, 35, who had sought shelter there with his family after fleeing Abassan Al-Kabira near the border.
In an air strike in Khan Younis, two members of Hamas' political office, Jawad Abu Shammala and Zakaria Abu Maamar, were killed, as confirmed by a Hamas official.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry reported that Israeli strikes since Saturday had destroyed more than 22,600 residential units and 10 health facilities, in addition to damaging 48 schools.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, while denouncing the Hamas attacks, emphasized, "International humanitarian law is clear: the obligation to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects remains applicable throughout the attacks."
Violence has also erupted in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Israeli police said they killed two Palestinians who shot fireworks at officers on Tuesday night. In the West Bank, clashes with Israeli forces since Saturday have resulted in 21 Palestinians killed and 130 injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
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