Gaza conflict intensifies as Israel plans ground offensive
Israel continues to prepare for a ground offensive in the northern Gaza Strip, after giving residents of the area an additional time to evacuate, a week after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on its territory, reports Agerpres with reference to DPA.
Billal Al Kedra, the commander of Hamas units in Khan Younis, a town in southern Gaza, was killed in Israeli airstrikes on Saturday night (Oct 14), the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Other terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad were also killed.
The IDF announced on Saturday that it had killed two Hamas leaders - the coordinator of air operations, Merad Abu Merad, and Ali-al Qadi. The latter was released by Israeli authorities in a prisoner swap that took place after the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been kidnapped on June 25, 2006 by Hamas and released on October 18, 2011, after five and a half years of captivity in Gaza.
The IDF is preparing to invade Gaza in the coming days, with tens of thousands of soldiers ordered to capture the city of Gaza and eliminate the current leadership of the enclave, according to three senior Israeli military officers who provided unclassified details about the plan, according to The New York Times (NYT), quoted by News.ro.
The invasion was originally scheduled for the weekend, but was delayed by a few days, at least in part due to cloudy conditions, which would have made it difficult for Israeli pilots and drone operators to provide air cover for ground forces, the officers told NYT.
In addition to infantry, the Israeli assault force will include tanks, engineers, and commandos, the officers added. Ground troops will be covered by fighter jets, attack helicopters, drones, and artillery that will be used from land and sea.
The IDF said its ultimate goal is to eliminate the political and military hierarchy at the top of Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza and that led last week's terrorist attacks in Israel, which killed 1,300.
This Israeli assault would be the largest ground operation by Israel since its invasion of Lebanon in 2006. The United States will send a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to deter hostile actions against Israel or any effort to expand this war following the Hamas attack, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced.
US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, telling them that the United States is concerned about the protection of civilians.
Joe Biden spoke by phone with Mahmoud Abbas for the first time since the bloody Hamas attack against Israel on October 7.
European Council President Charles Michel has convened a video conference summit of the leaders of the 27 European Union countries for Tuesday. They are to define the Council's common position and establish a clear and unified line of conduct that reflects the complexity of the current situation.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
