In a field near the border with the Gaza Strip, a young conscript prepares for deployment.
Just two weeks ago she was working in an advertising agency in Tel Aviv, now she is on her way to the hell of Gaza – and its Hamas terrorists.
“It’s quite different to what I did two weeks ago, that’s for sure. But on October 7, everything changed,” she said, referring to Hamas’s killing of 1,400 of her fellow citizens. “This is our fight for survival. This is what we are trained for and we will win.”
She is among 370,000 conscripts who gave up their regular jobs – and their cars in front of military bases – to enlist. The people of both Israel and Gaza are bracing for mass bloodshed as Israel has vowed to punish Hamas by land, air and sea.
I watched as crews made final preparations for their “Iron Swords” invasion of Gaza, with tanks, troops and fearsome armored bulldozers massed for the assault.
An Israeli tank column gathers near the Gazza Strip today, October 20, 2023, in advance of a possible invasion of the Gazza Strip
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Friday, October 20, 2023
The powerful Caterpillar D9R, nicknamed “Doobi,” which means “teddy bear” in Hebrew, was designed to break through fences and conquer the maze of narrow streets, vast tunnel networks, booby traps and sniper positions that await Israeli troops.
The maneuvers on the eve of the war took place as follows:
- Israel confirmed that Hamas had released two American hostages as part of a deal brokered by Qatar;
- Rishi Sunak met the Palestinian president during a peace summit in Egypt as part of his whistle-stop diplomacy campaign across the Middle East;
- Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said foreigners who chant pro-Palestine slogans could have their visas revoked;
- British police confirmed a 1,300 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the last two weeks;
- Climate activist Greta Thunberg faced angry backlash after her solidarity image “Stand with Gaza” featured a toy interpreted as anti-Semitic;
- The BBC quietly refrained from using the word “militants” in reference to Hamas.
- A “hostage manual” found on the bodies of Hamas militants instructed gunmen to kill “the problematic ones.”
Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, seen from Ashkelon in southern Israel, October 20, 2023
Palestinians carry out search and rescue operations in the destroyed buildings of the Nuseirat refugee camp as Israeli airstrikes continue on their 14th day in the Gaza Strip, Gaza, October 20, 2023
As soon as the “teddy bears” open a path to Gaza, Merkava battle tanks will thunder through the breach. Merkavas, “chariots” in Hebrew, are said to be among the most powerful tanks ever built.
Under a blazing sun yesterday, soldiers ran between their tanks, filling canisters and checking weapons at the undisclosed location not far from the Gaza border.
A local Israeli who was with us said as we watched the staggering mass of armored vehicles: “The thought of all these tanks going to Gaza is frightening to everyone.” But it must be done to Hamas once and for all . The prospect of both sides really scares me. I think it will stay that way for a long time.’
Today marks two weeks since heavily armed Hamas assassins stormed out of the Gaza enclave at dawn and terrorized Israeli villages by beheading babies, blowing up pensioners and setting houses on fire to condemn residents to burn alive.
IDF Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (r) in Cairo, Egypt, October 20, 2023
Some 203 hostages, including 20 children and up to 20 pensioners, were handcuffed and marched to Gaza, where they now serve as “human shields”.
Israel claimed yesterday it knew the “majority” were still alive, but their families are deeply frightened as the country vows to destroy the terror group holding them. Yesterday, Moshe Leimberg, 59, said he couldn’t stand watching the news. His wife Gabriela, his daughter Mia, 17, and other relatives were kidnapped by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
He said, “I want my family back.” I want my daughter and I want my wife. “I want my brother-in-law, and I want my sister-in-law, and my sister-in-law’s partner, and I want my dog back.”
Hamas offers to release some hostages in exchange for an immediate ceasefire. Last night two American hostages, a mother and a daughter, were released “on humanitarian grounds.”
But military chiefs unveiled a “three-phase” war yesterday, the first time Israel has presented a long-term plan to deal with its bloodiest conflict in decades.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who beat the war drum on Thursday by telling troops they would see Gaza up close “soon,” told Israeli lawmakers to expect airstrikes and ground maneuvers, followed by targeted attacks on pockets of resistance by Hamas- Fighter.
The third stage, he said, would mean an end to Israel’s “responsibility for life in Gaza,” without saying who Israel would likely rule in Gaza if Hamas were overthrown.
An Israeli Merkava tank drives past a fence near Kibbutz Beeri near the Gaza border on Oct. 20, 2023, after an attack by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7.
Rockets are fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Friday, October 20, 2023
This satellite image taken on October 20, 2023 shows a view of humanitarian aid trucks moving in a convoy near Sheikh Zuwayed in Egypt’s North Sinai province, en route to the Rafah border crossing between northeastern Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip. Cargo planes and trucks have been bringing humanitarian aid to Rafah for days, but none has yet been delivered to Gaza
Gaza is now a “hellhole” for civilians and time is running out to get aid to the area, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said. More than 4,100 people have been killed in vindictive Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza over the past two weeks, according to Palestinian officials.
UN aid workers called the crisis “catastrophic” with an estimated 600 children missing under the rubble of bomb sites. Medics and aid groups have warned that hospitals treating thousands of seriously injured people are on the verge of running out of power.
The “green light” for the ground invasion came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly received private support from US President Joe Biden.
Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman warned that the expected ground offensive would be “protracted and intense.”
The toughest test for forces will be the tangle of congested roads surrounding Gaza City and its sprawling refugee camps – one of the most densely populated areas on earth.
Hamas will lurk in a fortified maze of tunnels stretching for miles beneath the enclave. Although Israeli aircraft and artillery bombarded Gaza for almost two weeks, militants still managed to fire rockets into Israel yesterday.
Tanks crowd the border as Sunak calls on Arab leaders to remain calm
By Jason Groves and Mary O’Connor
As Israeli tanks and troops gathered on the Gaza border last night, Rishi Sunak yesterday urged Arab leaders to do “everything possible” to prevent Hamas terror attacks in Israel from sparking a wider war in the Middle East .
The prime minister held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to calm the precarious situation and create a route for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza.
In a diplomatic coup, the prime minister also held talks with veteran Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who rejected talks with US President Joe Biden after an explosion hit a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister expressed his “deep condolences to Mr Abbas for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza, including the terrible destruction of Al-Ahli Hospital” as the two men met in Cairo ahead of today’s Arab peace summit.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss the situation in Gaza at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, on October 20, 2023
Mr Sunak said the UK would provide aid to Gaza and that he remained committed to a “two-state solution” in which “Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security”. No. 10 said the two men “condemned Hamas’ terrorism and stressed that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.”
Earlier in Saudi Arabia, the prime minister held talks with the Emir of Qatar, who is a key figure in negotiations to release more than 200 hostages captured by Hamas on October 7. Downing Street said the two leaders had “underlined the imperative of avoidance”. any escalation of violence across the region” and agreed that all leaders “have a responsibility to do everything possible to prevent this.”
A spokesman said Mr Sunak thanked Qatar for its efforts to free hostages, including at least two Britons.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza yesterday.
He implored the international community to ensure aid trucks could get into the “hellhole.” Speaking to media on the Egyptian side of the border crossing, Mr Guterres insisted that the safe passage of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza was “the difference between life and death” for Palestinians and that the trucks needed to get into the enclave as quickly as possible .