Israel said Saturday evening that its military was preparing to carry out a comprehensive offensive operation plan ahead of the expected full-scale invasion of Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel.
The Israeli Defense Forces said their troops were deployed across the country and were stepping up operations for the next phase of the war, emphasizing key ground operations.
Israeli forces have been bombing Gaza since Hamas launched a devastating attack last week. In recent days, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes after Israel ordered 1.1 million civilians, nearly half of the Gazas population, to leave the northern part of the area. Many people, including Gaza.
“We are attacking Gaza because this is the center of Hamas control and the military capability of terrorism and we have to attack them with force,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a brief interview with reporters.
The IDF added that its forces were preparing for the expansion of the combat zone and that the planned operations could include joint and air, sea and land strikes.
The announcement comes after Saturday’s effort to allow two Palestinian Americans and other foreign passport holders to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt after Israel. Tell the diplomat that it will allow some departure.
However, no one was allowed to leave, according to four diplomats working on the issue. An official said the convoy was traveling back and forth with conflicting reports as to why the border had not been opened.
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A U.S. official said they had encouraged two Palestinian Americans to cross Rafah, but the situation continued to change.
An Arab diplomat says the Biden administration has asked Qatar to persuade Hamas not to prevent US-owned Palestinians from leaving, which Islam has agreed to. The United States has asked the Egyptians to open the Rafah and allow them to cross, but the Egyptians have not yet agreed to open the border for the Americans.
Rafah is the only exit from Gaza, not controlled by Israel, and remains largely closed, leaving no way out for the 2.3 million Palestinians who have been besieged since Israel imposed a roadblock in 2007. In response to Hamas’ violent occupation of territory.
Cairo has long been concerned that Israel wants to push its issue with Gaza to Egypt.
Michael Wahid Hanna, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Egypt would not simply agree to provide safe passage for other Americans and foreigners unless there was an agreement to open the border for humanitarian supplies.
Qatar and the United States are working to finalize an agreement on the release of civilian hostages held by Hamas.
He added that the agreement would require Israel to suspend its bombing of Gaza to allow Hamas to secure the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to be delivered safely to the mainland.
There was a positive meeting yesterday and Hamas appeared to be willing to release civilian hostages, but Hamas said they could not do so as the bombing continued. They want Israel to stop bombing Gaza in the short term to secure the release of prisoners of war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Qatari Prime Minister on Friday as part of a regional visit. Qatar is an ally of the United States, which also hosts Hamass political office.
Israel has identified 120 hostages captured during the Hamas offensive.
Israeli authorities say Hamas has killed at least 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, in an offensive in southern Israel. Palestinian health officials say at least 2,515 people, 1,182 of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its bombing.
The U.S. State Department said Saturday night that 29 Americans had died while 15 were unrecorded.
The warning to Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and has been condemned by Arab states and the United Nations.
The head of the EU diplomacy said on Saturday that Israel needed to abide by international law.
Josep Borrell said during a visit to Beijing that it was “absolutely impossible”.
The Israeli military declined to discuss any deadlines, but reaffirmed its demands for civilians. Leave as soon as possible. “Follow our instructions to move south,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi has said that Israel’s order for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza at the height of the war was a clear violation of international law, international humanitarian law and the law of war.
He said the Israeli offensive was causing a humanitarian catastrophe that represented collective sanctions on more than 2 million Palestinians and was pushing the entire region into the deep.
Israel has cut off food, fresh water and electricity to Gaza. The United Nations says water supplies are so low that people are forced to drink contaminated water, which raises fears of disease.
Mona Hanafy, 55, who took refuge in a UN-run school after her home in Gaza was destroyed, said death was better than life. There are very few bathrooms and no running water. We have only eaten cake since yesterday. We went to a supermarket but found nothing there.
“Israel intends to increase our military operations in Gaza, the largest city in the region and the center of Hamas’ political and military apparatus,” said IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States was working with other countries to ensure that innocent civilians have access to water, food and medical care, according to the White House.
The statement also said that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant the importance of adhering to the rules of war, including the duty to protect civilians and resolve the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region. Gaza as Israel resumes operations to restore security
The White House said Biden also spoke with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.
Additional reporting by Simeon Kerr in Dubai
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