Israel-Hamas conflict: Netanyahu says Israel is preparing ground invasion of Gaza

Agencies

Jerusalem, October 25

Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Wednesday, but he declined to provide any details on the timing or other information about the operation.

He said the decision on when forces would go into the Palestinian enclave, controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, would be taken by the government’s special war cabinet, which includes the leader of one of the centrist opposition parties.

“We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning,” Netanyahu said.

“Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion.

I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be.” Israel has carried out days of intense bombardment of the densely populated Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli communities that killed some 1,400 people.

Earlier, citing US and Israeli officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza for now, so the United States could rush missile defences to the region.

Reuters reported on Monday that Washington advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault and is keeping Qatar — a broker with the Palestinian militants — apprised of those talks as its tries to free more hostages and prepare for a possible wider regional war.

UN warns Gaza blockade could force it to sharply cut relief operations

Earlier in the day, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned that without immediate deliveries of fuel it will soon have to sharply cut back relief operations across the Gaza Strip, which has been blockaded and hit by devastating Israeli airstrikes since Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel more than two weeks ago.

The warning came as hospitals in Gaza struggled to treat masses of wounded with dwindling resources, and health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory said the death toll was soaring as Israeli jets continued striking the territory overnight into Wednesday.

Gaza’s residents have been running out of food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the territory following the attack on southern Israel by Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction.

In recent days, Israel allowed a small number of trucks filled with aid to come over the border with Egypt but barred deliveries of fuel — needed to power hospital generators — to keep it out of Hamas’ hands.

The UN said it had managed to deliver some of the aid in recent days to hospitals treating the wounded. But the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the largest provider of humanitarian services in Gaza, said it was running out of fuel.

Officials said they were forced to reduce their operations as they rationed what little fuel they had.

“Without fuel our trucks cannot go around to further places in the strip for distribution,” said Lily Esposito, a spokesperson for the agency.

“We will have to make decisions on what activities we keep or not with little fuel.”