From the BZ editorial team
Israel swears its soldiers into the fight against terror.
The Israeli army’s expected offensive against the Hamas barbarians is getting closer and closer. As an Israeli military spokesman said on Saturday evening, Israel will attack Gaza “very soon”!
► Israel has now massed tens of thousands of soldiers on the border with the Gaza Strip and says it is preparing for an “integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land” on Hamas. The preparations were about to be completed, it was said on Saturday evening.
This includes calling up hundreds of thousands of reservists and equipping them. Forces are already deployed across the country and are ready to “increase readiness for the next phases of the war, with a focus on a significant ground operation,” it said.
Near the Gaza Strip, Benjamin Netanyahu (73) swears his soldiers into the “next phase”. Photo: dpa
Previously, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (73) visited his soldiers not far from the Gaza Strip on Saturday and made it clear that the next strikes against the Palestinian terrorist group were imminent.
During the visit to the troops near the border with the Gaza Strip, he said to the soldiers: “Are you ready for the next phase? The next phase is coming.” The soldiers nodded in agreement.
Netanyahu made it clear that the week-long strikes against Hamas were “just the beginning.” On Friday morning, the Israeli army asked around 1.1 million residents of the northern Gaza Strip to leave the area south.
The Israeli army called on Palestinian civilians to hurry out of the area on Saturday, saying there was a window for safe passage from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (local time, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. our time).
The Israeli troops were also able to report partial success in the fight against terror: According to military information, two high-ranking Hamas commanders who were jointly responsible for the attack on Israel were killed.