The Israeli army raided the Gaza Strip, the base of the Palestinian armed group Hamas, for two consecutive days, accelerating preparations for a ground war. The international community is calling for an end to military action or a ceasefire to prevent increasing humanitarian damage in the Gaza Strip.
On the 27th (local time), the Israeli military posted on social media “After attacking the center and terrorist agents, they withdrew,” he said. As with the previous day, a 51-second video was also released showing several tanks entering the Gaza Strip and a targeted building being attacked and exploding.
Prior to the limited ground attack on the Gaza Strip for the second day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at a press briefing on the 26th, “We are preparing for the next stage (of the war). “There will be more (Hamas),” he said. “We will begin the operation when the conditions are met.” “The day is not far away,” he said, implying that the start of a full-scale ground war was imminent. Minister Gallant went on to resolve that “the outcome of this fight will determine the next 75 years of Israel (this year’s 75th anniversary of independence).”
However, there are observations that an agreement on the start of a ground war is having difficulties within the Israeli government. On the 26th, the New York Times (NYT), citing multiple high-ranking Israeli government and military officials, reported, “Preparations for an invasion of the Gaza Strip have already been prepared, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not given final approval.” At a time when the United States is persuading Israel to delay deploying ground troops due to concerns about an escalation of war, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has already lost public support, is afraid that his operation will fail. In addition, the NYT reported that if ground troops were deployed to the area where Hamas members were ambushed in tunnels and buildings spanning a total length of 480 km, casualties would inevitably occur, raising skeptical voices even in the war cabinet. The issue of hostages, which Hamas is using as human shields, is also a key issue.
The NYT reported that for this reason, the Israeli government is considering carrying out several limited attacks instead of deploying large-scale troops. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the previous day, “We will continue ground attacks on the Gaza Strip over the next few days,” adding, “The intensity will increase.”
The international community is also demanding restraint, concerned about the civilian casualties that ground troops may cause. The leaders of the 27 European Union (EU) countries adopted a declaration at the summit on the 26th, expressing concern about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and urging “all necessary measures to be taken to provide humanitarian assistance, including a temporary suspension of military action.” .
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.