Israel’s Defense Minister said on Saturday that “the ground was shaking in Gaza” and that the war against the leaders of the Palestinian enclave, the Islamist group Hamas, had entered a new phase.
“We have moved to the next phase of the war,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in statements released by Israeli media on Saturday.
“Last night [sexta-feira]shook the ground in Gaza. We attack above ground and underground. (…) The instructions for the armed forces are clear. The campaign will continue until further notice.”
His statements mark the gradual acceleration towards a possible large-scale ground offensive in northern Gaza.
Gallant said Friday that Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive in Gaza soon.
“It will take a long time” to dismantle Hamas’ vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expects a long phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys “hotbeds of resistance.”
Last Saturday, Israel expanded its land operation in Gaza, sending in tanks and infantry, supported by massive air and naval strikes.
The Israeli bombings from Friday evening to Saturday were described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war, and communications in the enclave were also disrupted.
This led to the isolation of much of the 2.3 million people in the Palestinian enclave, while at the same time giving the Israeli army control of the narrative in a new phase of the struggle.
The Israeli military today released blurry images showing columns of tanks moving slowly through open areas of Gaza, apparently close to the border, and said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers. The underground sites are a key target in Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas, following the bloody invasion of Israel three weeks ago.
At the start of the war, Israel had already amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border. Until now, the troops had conducted brief nighttime ground raids before returning to Israel.
The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza rose this Saturday to more than 7,700 people since October 7, with 377 deaths since Friday, according to the Hamas Health Ministry. Most of the dead were women and children, the same source said.
Hamas Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told journalists that the communications blackout had “completely paralyzed” the health network.
Residents were unable to call ambulances and emergency teams followed the sounds of artillery and airstrikes looking for people in need of help.
More than 1.4 million people have fled their homes, almost half are crammed into schools and United Nations shelters.
Aid workers say the amount of aid Israel allowed into the enclave through Egypt last week is a small fraction of what is needed. Hospitals in Gaza are scrambling for fuel to power emergency generators that support incubators and other essential equipment.
The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7 with the launch of thousands of rockets and the raid of armed militiamen, taking two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has been classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States. Israel bombed several of the group’s infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and imposed a total siege. the area with an interruption of the supply of water, fuel and electricity.
Hamas’ attack on Israel killed more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took nearly 200 hostage.
Source: DN
