“We have moved to a new phase in the war. Last night [por el viernes]the land of Gaza trembled. We attack above and below the ground. We attack all terrorists of all ranks and in all places,” said the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallanthours after its fighters bombed 150 underground targets and its soldiers were still deployed in the north of the Gaza Strip in the largest land incursion of the war against the Hamas jihadist group that began three weeks ago.
“We entered the second phase of the war with clear objectives: destroying the military and government capabilities of Hamas and the release of those kidnapped,” declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirming the expansion of ground operations. He added: “We have eliminated countless murderers and destroyed countless terrorist infrastructures. It is just the beginning. The war inside the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult“.
A ground offensive which, in statements by the head of the Army, Herzi Halevi, is necessary “to achieve the objectives.” Which is it? The dismantling of Hamas, border security and maximum efforts to return all those kidnapped in Gaza, Halevi listed, pointing out that there are a large number of dead in the ranks of Hamas. Like the rest of the officers and leaders, he carries on his shoulders the heavy burden of not having avoided the mega attack of 7-O.
But even without thousands of uniformed men in the alleys of Gaza, the attacks are already so intense that, on the one hand, relatives of the 230 people in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad They met urgently with Netanyahu to demand that their own people not be put in danger; On the other hand, a blackout was caused in the Palestinian enclave. A large part of Gazans and UN agencies were left without communications or internet. The World Health Organization denounced that its workers, like the rest of the inhabitants of Gaza, spent a night “in darkness.” [por la falta de electricidad] and fear.” Red Crescent Palestine indicated that it cannot communicate with its health teams in Gaza. According to HIM, “civilians cannot receive updated information on where they can access humanitarian aid, nor which places are more or less dangerous.” Never before have Gazans been so supported at the headquarters of the international organization in New York and so isolated in the strip between Israel and Egypt.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 7,700 Palestinians (70% of them civilians) have been killed in the military campaign that Israel launched in response to the death of more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in the Hamas attack in kibutzimcities, a music festival and at several military bases near the border.