The Israeli army has declared it has “full control” of the locations in southern Israel that have been attacked since the start of the Hamas offensive from Gaza, a military spokesman said on the third day of the battle. However, he admitted there is “a long way” to go.
“We have full control over the locations,” Israeli army spokesman General Daniel Hagari said at a televised news conference, adding, however, that “there may still be terrorists in the area.”
However, the Israeli army said on Monday it is continuing to fight Palestinians who have infiltrated Israeli territory at “seven or eight” points around the Gaza Strip.
‘We are still fighting. There are seven or eight open areas nearby [da Faixa de Gaza] where we still have fighters fighting terrorists,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters.
The Israeli army admitted that there is “a long way” to go in the fight against Hamas. Israeli Army Major Libby Weiss acknowledged that the battle “will last some time”, stressing in statements to Spanish news agency Europa Press that this is an “unprecedented” situation.
The army official described the situation as “a national tragedy” and recalled that authorities have already confirmed the existence of more than 700 dead and 2,000 injured.
“We have never seen this level of murder of innocent civilians,” said Weiss, who confirmed that fighting continues with Hamas members in some cities in the south of the country and stressed that the border with the Palestinian enclave “is not is safe. ” given the situation “very dynamic” area.
In addition to the fighting, Israeli authorities are moving people from risk areas “into the interior” of Israel.
On the other hand, “there are dozens of people who have been transferred from Israel to Gaza as hostages,” he noted, before confirming that this creates “a very complex situation” in carrying out operations against Hamas.
Therefore, he added, the Israeli army carried out “precision bombing” of “Hamas military assets, including “weapons warehouses” and points from which “thousands of projectiles were fired against Israel.”
Weiss also emphasized that there is “no ground invasion taking place” by Israeli forces at this time, although he stressed that “all options are on the table” and warned against “any other terrorist organization or country that supports terrorist organizations.”
He further stated that “hundreds of Hamas terrorists” managed to invade Israeli territory during the large-scale offensive launched on Saturday, “mainly by land, but there were also attempts by sea and air.”
“After they invaded Israel, they took part in massacres,” he complained, noting that “they killed Israeli civilians in the streets, entered the ‘kibbutz’ (…), took hostages and slaughtered innocents.”
This is “the largest massacre of Israeli civilians since the country’s founding” in 1948, he assured.
Ministers call for a national emergency government
Several Israeli ministers spoke out on Monday in favor of a national emergency government due to the Hamas group’s military offensive.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich acknowledged that “reality dictates that unity and cohesion are necessary to defeat enemies.”
‘Leave the teams and the negotiations. I ask the Prime Minister [israelita] Benjamin Netanyahu and the [ex-ministro da Defesa e líder do Partido da Unidade, da oposição] Benjamin Gantz must seize this opportunity, immediately come together and agree to create a national emergency government that will unite the people, increase motivation, support the military and bring about the total elimination of Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza,” Smotrich stated.
In this sense, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barakat argued that “Israel is at war and it is time for a government of national unity.”
“In these complex times, we must put aside our differences and unite against an enemy who wants to destroy us (…). Army fighters from all sectors of Israeli society are going to war for the State of Israel and we must support them with a unity government that represents the entire population. We must form a unity government today and win the war together,” said Nir Barakat.
The Minister of National Security, the ultra-right Itamar Ben Gvir, in turn indicated that his party, Otzma Yehudit, would support this option “as long as the basis for membership is an agreement that defines the government’s goal as the victory of the Military and the elimination of Hamas forces and government.
Ben Gvir announced this Monday an “emergency order” for the Firearms Licensing Division to allow citizens to arm themselves, as long as they meet the requirements for carrying firearms and have no criminal record or medical restrictions.
The latest report from the Palestinian Health Ministry on Sunday recorded 413 deaths from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, bringing the total number of deaths on both sides of the armed clashes that began on Saturday to more than 1,100.
According to the ministry, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE, among the 413 deaths were 78 minors and 41 women.
Two towers in Gaza city have been attacked in recent hours, and the toll is likely to rise.
These victims were added to the more than 700 deaths in the latest Israeli Health Ministry report, also released on Sunday.
The high number of deaths confirmed in just over 24 hours is unprecedented in Israel’s history and comparable only to the bloody first Israeli-Arab war of 1948, after the establishment of the State of Israel.
Source: DN
