Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has threatened the radical Islamic group Hamas with a “terrible” response to the weekend’s terror. The Gaza Strip was sealed off and the military launched a massive mobilization.
After the devastating attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists, there are increasing signs of an impending Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel ordered the complete closure of the area, which is only 40 kilometers long and six to twelve kilometers wide, while the army mobilized 300,000 reservists.
“What Hamas will experience will be hard and terrible. We are only at the beginning,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said and vowed revenge. “What we do to our enemies in the days to come will reverberate within them for generations.”
People in Israel have been told to stock up on enough food, water and medicine. The military said supplies should last at least 72 hours.
Western Heads of Government make a phone call
Germany, the USA, Great Britain, France and Italy jointly assured the attacked country of their solidarity. Together we would express “our unwavering and united support” for Israel “and unequivocally condemn Hamas and its terrible acts of terror,” said a federal government statement published that night.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Our 5 countries will ensure that Israel can defend itself and its citizens against the vile attacks.”
Hamas threatens to kill hostages
Hamas, meanwhile, threatened to execute a civilian hostage for every attack carried out by Israel, a spokesman said. She kidnapped around 150 Israeli hostages to the Gaza Strip. These include citizens of several Western countries, including a German.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen condemned the threatened killing of abducted Israelis: “This war crime will not be forgiven,” he warned. Israel is determined to bring home the Israelis kidnapped in the Gaza Strip “in a spirit of mutual responsibility,” he said in a video message. “We demand that Hamas not harm any of the hostages.” Israel’s army says it has taken hundreds of Hamas members prisoner.
Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, the USA and Israel, told the Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera that the group was open to mediation. The Islamist organization had previously called for a prisoner exchange and the release of 36 imprisoned Palestinian women in Israel in exchange for the handover of older, kidnapped Israeli women.
At least 900 people killed by Hamas terrorists
At least 900 people were killed and 2,600 people were injured in the attack by Hamas terrorists that began over the weekend. At least eleven American citizens were among the dead, US President Joe Biden said on Platform
There were more than 260 deaths at a music festival in southern Israel alone. The Israeli rescue service Zaka also reported that more than 100 bodies were recovered from the rural Kibbutz Beeri, the scene of a hostage crisis.
According to military reports, Israel has attacked targets in Lebanon.
According to Israeli President Izchak Herzog, not since the Holocaust have as many Jews been killed in one day as in the Hamas terror attacks on Saturday. “Not since the Holocaust have we seen Jewish women and children, grandparents – even Holocaust survivors – being crammed into trucks and taken into captivity,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Health there, at least 687 people were killed and more than 3,800 injured in the massive Israeli counterstrikes in the Gaza Strip. According to unconfirmed media reports, the bodies of around 1,500 Palestinian terrorists are said to be on Israeli territory. Terrorists are currently no longer invading Israel, an Israeli military spokesman said.
More fighting at night
For the approximately two million mostly poor residents of the extremely densely populated Gaza Strip, the situation is likely to worsen further with Israel’s complete closure. Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant said: “There will be no electricity, no food and no fuel.”
Israel’s army continued to attack Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip overnight. The army said the positions were attacked from the air and from ships. The military bombed, among other things, weapons depots, tunnels and a Hamas command center in a mosque.
Meanwhile, there were again clashes with deaths in the West Bank. There were also fighting on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, increasing concerns that the conflict could spread. Israeli soldiers shot several gunmen who had advanced into Israel, the Israeli military said. The Shiite organization Hezbollah, which like Hamas is allied with Iran, denied involvement.