Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin said Netanyahu Israel is preparing to launch a ground attack with the aim of destroying the capabilities of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) in the Gaza Strip, but he declined to provide any details about the timing of the operation or any other information.
Netanyahu confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday that the mini-ministerial council for security and political affairs (cabinet) headed by him set the timing for the ground entry into the Gaza Strip, and stressed, “We are preparing for a ground operation. I will not specify when it will launch or the considerations we take into account, most of which are unknown to the public.”
Netanyahu added, “We have set two goals for the war: liquidating Hamas by destroying its military and authoritarian capabilities, and doing everything possible to return the kidnapped people.”
He continued, “All Hamas members will die, above and below the ground, inside and outside Gaza.”
He stressed that the failure to repel the Hamas attack that targeted the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip would be fully investigated, saying, “Everyone will have to provide answers, including me, but all of this will happen only after the war.”
Netanyahu had previously declined to bear responsibility for the failure to anticipate and repel the Hamas attack, while Israeli officials and security service leaders announced that they bear responsibility for what happened.
Netanyahu said, “We only set our sights on one thing, which is saving Israel and achieving victory.”
He considered that October 7 was a black day in the history of Israel, in reference to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by Hamas.
The day before yesterday, Monday, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth spoke of a “real crisis of confidence” between Netanyahu and the Israeli army against the backdrop of the events in Gaza, and the responsibility for the failure to predict a Hamas attack.
For the 19th day, the Israeli army continues to target Gaza with intense air strikes that destroyed entire neighborhoods and caused the death of 6,546 Palestinians, including 2,704 children, 1,584 women, and 295 elderly people, and injured 17,439 people, in addition to more than 1,600 missing people under the rubble.
During the same period, Hamas killed more than 1,400 Israelis and wounded 5,132, according to the Israeli Ministry of Health. It also captured more than 250 Israelis, including high-ranking military personnel, and wants to exchange them for more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women.
