The Israeli army announced it would “increase” its bombing raids on the Gaza Strip starting Saturday as it prepares for the next phase of its offensive against Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory.
• Also read: LIVE | 15th day of the Israel-Hamas war
• Also read: Hamas terrorists: What do the top secret documents found reveal?
• Also read: Israel allows humanitarian aid from Egypt to flow into the Gaza Strip
“From today we will increase the attacks (…),” said General Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli army.
“We will enter the next phases of the war in conditions that are optimal for us,” he added during a live televised news conference.
AFP
General Hagari also confirmed the presence of at least 210 hostages in Gaza, most of them Israelis.
Earlier Saturday, several Israeli army officials visited troops on the front lines and emphasized the forces’ preparation for a possible ground intervention in the Gaza Strip.
“We will invade Gaza, we will do it for operational reasons, destroy the infrastructure and the Hamas terrorists and we will do it in a professional manner,” Chief of Staff Herzi told Halevi at a troop review.
AFP
According to reports from Israeli authorities, more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel by Hamas militants since October 7, most of them civilians who were shot, burned alive or died by mutilation from the Gaza Strip on the day of the attack.
It was the deadliest attack since Israel’s founding in 1948.
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, at least 4,385 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip by incessant bombing by the Israeli army.
It is the deadliest Israeli military operation against Gaza since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the territory in 2005 after 38 years of occupation.