Israel: "Phase Two" in the war against Hamas

2023-10-29 08:48:08, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israel: "Phase Two" in the war against Hamas

Israel begins the second phase of the war in the Gaza Strip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the military operation with ground troops in the Gaza Strip as the second phase of the war. The goal is to "destroy Hamas' capabilities and return the hostages," Netanyahu told a news conference. The emergency government took the decision to expand the ground operation unanimously. "However, we are at the beginning", Netanyahu emphasized. The war will "be hard and long." "After the war we will have to answer all the hard questions, including me."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

According to its own data, the Israeli army penetrated with ground troops in the north of the Gaza Strip. The ground troops have stayed there, unlike the last few days. Infantry, tank troops, engineering troops and artillery take part in this operation. Attacks on underground targets and infrastructure of Hamas, categorized as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany, the EU and several Arab countries, will increase. Previously, the Israeli military had undertaken isolated, time-limited actions. Three weeks ago, the Islamist militant group Hamas attacked Israel and killed 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostages.

Smoke and flames after an Israeli military airstrike in Gaza

Netanyahu: We will do everything for the release of the hostages

We will use every opportunity to "bring back our abducted sisters and brothers to the arms of their families", stressed the Israeli Prime Minister. Previously, Netanyahu had met with the families of the victims. Representatives of the relatives finally asked for an exchange of prisoners. Israel must allow the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange for Israeli hostages. According to Netanyahu, the government cabinet discussed the idea of ??exchanging Palestinian prisoners for hostages.

A spokesman for the militant-Islamist Hamas previously said that the hostages would be released if Israel released all Palestinian prisoners. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at a press conference that not a moment goes by that he does not think about the hostages. But returning them is a complex task. The more military pressure Israel exerts, the greater the chance that this task will be accomplished, Gallant said. "Hamas is now experiencing shocks it has never seen before."/ DW