As Israel starts to mobilize 60,000 reservists for an intensified war in Gaza, its leaders stressed to soldiers on Tuesday the importance of their mission to defeat the Hamas militia which attacked the country nearly two years ago.
“We are fighting a stubborn and just war without peer,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message to soldiers.
“But what began in Gaza must end in Gaza.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir told a meeting of reservists that the Gaza operation would be intensified.
“We have already begun the ground operation in Gaza – make no mistake,” Zamir said, as reported on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Telegram channel.
“We are already entering places we have never entered before,” he added.
“We will not stop the war until we defeat this enemy,” he said.
IDF says top Hamas terrorist eliminated in Gaza City
Late on Tuesday, the IDF reported that it killed in a joint operation with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), Hazem Awni Naeeem, the terrorist who held hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Naama Levy in captivity. The three were released in a hostage deal in January.
The Hamas militant was a senior operative in military intelligence in the Gaza City brigade, the IDF said.
Israel is planning to capture Gaza City, the largest settlement in the sealed-off strip and home to some 1 million, to rid it of Hamas terrorists, the government has said.
The move has been denounced by hostage relatives and many others in Israel who worry that an occuupation of Gaza City will endanger the lives of those still held captive.
According to Israeli sources, 48 hostages are still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Other critics argue that Hamas cannot be defeated militarily and no longer poses a threat to Israel.
On the ground in Gaza
At least five children were killed in the latest Israeli attack on southern Gaza, local media reported on Tuesday.
Palestinian news agency WAFA said the shelling took place in al-Mawasi, an area that has been designated as a humanitarian zone by the Israeli military.
A spokesman for the military said it was investigating the reports.
Images circulating on social media show the dead bodies of several children. It was not possible to independently verify them.
According to WAFA, dozens of people were killed in earlier attacks across Gaza.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250…
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