Israel war intensifies: ‘Full on ground invasion imminent’ as 300,000 troops near Gaza
Israel is on the verge of storming the Gaza Strip with 300,000 reservists nearing the border, as the US leader describes the Hamas attack as “pure cruelty”. Warning: Graphic
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The Israeli Defence Force is readying forces and stockpiling supplies on the border of the Gaza Strip ahead of a “full-on ground invasion”.
The counteroffensive against the Hamas terror group is “imminent” with 300,000 reservists called up nearing the border, according to sources quoted by Fox News.
It comes as the US State Department confirmed at least 22 Americans were killed in the brutal massacre, with another 17 missing feared to have been taken hostage. Galit Carbone, 66, is the first confirmed Australian victim of the conflict.
Israel has been pounding the terror group’s stronghold ahead of the expected invasion, as rescue workers in Israel continue to uncover horror scenes in villages bordering Gaza.
The discovery of multiple atrocities came as the IDF revealed it was now combating the enemy on three sides, with more than a dozen rockets being fired from Lebanon and Syria into Israeli territory, by Hezbollah and others sympathetic to Hamas’ cause.
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MORE RESCUE FLIGHTS OFFERED TO HELP AUSSIES
Qatar Airways has told the Federal Government it was prepared to fly into Tel Aviv to rescue stranded Aussies as part of a joint pitch with its partner airline Virgin Australia.
Federal Transport Minister Catherine King has now spoken to Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka about contingency plans to bring Australians out of the conflict in Israel.
The move follows confirmation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday that Qantas will make two return flights, on Friday and Sunday, from London to Ben Gurion airport in the Israeli capital.
Virgin has offered two proposals for special flights, one a VA 737 aircraft that was undergoing maintenance in Abu Dhabi to make a mercy mission from Israel’s neighbour Jordan’s capital Amman - with the Israeli-Jordanian land border still open. The second pitch is an “open offer” by Qatar Airways to “look at all options” including flying into Tel Aviv.
‘BIDEN TOSSED ISRAEL TO BLOODTHIRSTY JIHADS’: TRUMP CLAIMS
Donald Trump has attacked US President Joe Biden, claiming he is to blame for the rise in conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking at a Republican event on Wednesday, the former US leader was scathing of Mr Biden’s foreign policy dealings.
“Under my leadership the world was peaceful and calm because America was respected … with crooked Joe Biden, you have chaos, bloodshed, war, terror and death,” Mr Trump said, reports The Guardian.
“Joe Biden came along and tossed Israel to the bloodthirsty jihads,” he add.
‘END DOUBLE STANDARDS’: ISLAMIC GROUPS PLEA
A joint statement from 41 Islamic community groups has called on the federal government to “end the double standards” and acknowledge the loss of Palestine lives as the Israel and Hamas conflict escalates.
The letter rejected the “one-sided portrayal of the Palestinian issue in Australia” and condemned all “calls and incitement to violence and hatred of any people”, including anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim or Islamophobic attitudes.
“There is never a justification for any loss of innocent civilian lives. This must be a universal constant and hold true for every life,” the letter read.
“This cannot be overlooked or ignored. Regrettably, it has.
“Enough is enough. The voice of Australian Muslims and proponents of justice for all people will no longer be silenced on the matter of Palestine.”
Signatories including the Alliance of Australian Muslims, Lebanese Muslim Association, and Muslim Women Australia called for mosques to be lit up with the red, black and green colours of the Palestinian flag.
They also called on politicians to acknowledge the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
‘DEADLIEST DAY FOR JEWS SINCE HOLOCAUST’: BIDEN
US President Joe Biden has described Hamas’ attack on Israel as the “deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust”.
His comments were made during a meeting with Jewish leaders in Washington on Wednesday, The Guardian reports.
“This attack was a campaign of pure cruelty, not just hate, but pure cruelty against the Jewish people, and I would argue it is the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust,” he said.
“Silence is complicity. I refuse to be silent.”
ISRAEL’S OFFENSIVE TO START ‘WHEN FIT FOR PURPOSE’
Israel Defence Force spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza will come “when opportune and fit for our purposes”.
In a live address on Thursday, Mr Conricus said that the IDF is “prioritising striking Hamas commanders” pointing to tunnels under the Gaza Strip.
Listen in as an IDF Spokesperson @jconricus provides a situational update on all fronts, as the war against Hamas continues. https://t.co/jSkwACh3iN
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 12, 2023
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas in response to it’s attack on his country.
“Every Hamas member is a dead man,” the veteran right-wing Israeli leader said, again likening them to the Islamic State group and promising: “We will crush them and destroy them as the world has destroyed Daesh.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant pledged to obliterate the militant group.
“We will wipe out this thing called Hamas,” Gallant said at a press conference on Wednesday night local time.
“Hamas — the Islamic State of Gaza — will be wiped from the face of the earth. It will not continue to exist. There will be no situation in which Israeli children are murdered and we all go about our business.”
Netanyahu earlier temporarily settled his political differences and set up an emergency government for the length of the war
US President Joe Biden pledged to send more munitions and military hardware to its close ally Israel and expressed revulsion at the “sheer evil” of the slaughter of civilians in Hamas’s unprecedented assault.
But Mr Biden also made his first call for restraint over Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks, urging Israel to abide by the rules of war.
He said he had told Netanyahu it was “really important that Israel, with all the anger and frustration … they operate by the rules of war”.
338,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED IN GAZA: UN
More than 338,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said, as heavy Israeli bombardments continue to hit the Palestinian enclave.
The number of displaced in the densely populated territory of 2.3 million people had by late Wednesday “risen by an additional 75,000 people and reached 338,934,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in a statement.
US ASKING COUNTRIES TO GET HAMAS TO STAND DOWN
The United States is encouraging its international partners to use their influence with Hamas and its supporters in Iran to get the militants to stand down after their assault on Israel, a senior official said.
The comments came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading to Israel on Thursday for a visit of solidarity before stops in Jordan and likely other countries in the region.
A senior official traveling with Blinken said that the United States had no issue with reported talks between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
“Frankly, we’re asking all of our partners to engage with Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran - with any of that trifecta - with whom they have any channels or relations or what have you, to get Hamas to stand down from its attacks, to release those hostages, and to keep Hezbollah out, and to keep Iran out of the fray,” the official said on a refueling stop in Ireland.
Another US official confirmed that Blinken would visit other countries in the region after the announced trips to Israel and Jordan but did not say which ones.
Iran has openly supported Hamas, and praised the militants’ assault on Israel on Saturday.
Blinken and other US officials say that Hamas survives on Iranian support but that there is no evidence that Tehran directed the attacks on Israel.
HAMAS CLAIMS TO HAVE FREED ISRAELI WOMAN, CHILDREN
Hamas says it has released an Israeli woman and her two children that had been detained during fighting with Israeli forces.
“An Israeli settler and her two children were released after they were detained during the clashes,” Ezzedine al-Qassem Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement referring to the group’s brutal assault on Israel on Saturday.
A video footage aired by Hamas television Al-Aqsa network showed a woman dressed in a blue shirt with two children in a barbed wired area that appeared to be between Israel and the Gaza Strip, while three Hamas fighters are seen walking away.
The footage did not show any military personnel receiving the three, and the clip appeared to have been filmed in daylight.
The authenticity of the footage has not been independently verified.
Israeli TV channels rejected Hamas’s claim, saying the woman and the two children were never taken to the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters after they launched the deadly assault.
The channels identified the woman as Avital Aladjem, a resident of kibbutz Holit, who had told in a series of interviews this week that she had been taken by force by Hamas militants along with two children of her neighbour to a border area between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
She then said that a group of fighters later let her go with the children.
TURKEY NEGOTIATING RELEASE OF ISRAELI HOSTAGES
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a negotiation process with Hamas seeking the release of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by the Palestinian militant group, an official source told AFP.
“They are negotiating to secure the release of the hostages,” the source said, confirming a report by the private TV channel Haberturk.
ISRAELI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL HIT
An Israeli hospital and supermarket were hit by Gaza fire.
A video from the southern city of Ashkelon purportedly showed the Child Development wing of the Barzilai Medical Centre struck by a rocket, destroying part of the building.
Deputy Director Dr. Gili Givati told Israeli public radio: “The development centre was completely destroyed.”
GAZA’S ONLY POWER PLANT RUNS OUT OF FUEL
Gaza’s only power plant has run out of fuel, forcing it to shut down after Israel cut off supplies, the energy ministry said. That leaves only generators to power the territory – but they also run on fuel that is in short supply within Gaza.
AID WORKERS AMONG THE DEAD
The United Nations said 11 of its staff had been killed in Gaza since Saturday, while the International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said it had lost five of its members.
DEATH TOLL RISES
The death toll of Israelis – since the discovery of more victims including dozens of children in two kibbutz Kfar Aza and Be’eri – has risen to 1200.
The Palestinian health ministry says 1100 people have been killed and more than 5339 others injured since Israel‘s retaliatory air strikes on Gaza began on Saturday.
The report came as Israel resumed its air strikes on the enclave with live broadcasts showing several new buildings targeted, notably in the Gaza City port area.
Internationally, the United States had the most citizens confirmed killed with at least 22, according to the State Department. Thailand was a close second at 20.
At least 23 countries, including Australia, have lost citizens in the assault.
NOW - Fox News says "full on ground invasion" of Gaza is "imminent."pic.twitter.com/dByiXew2Ka
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 11, 2023
ISRAELIS WARNED OF ‘POSSIBLE INFILTRATION’ IN NORTH
Israelis in the northern area around Ma’alot-Tarshiha have been told to lock their doors due to a “possible infiltration”.
The Israeli Homefront Command issued the warning shortly after “hostile aircraft” entered from Lebanon.
“Residents of the settlements in The Gulf, Lower Galilee, Central Galilee, Upper Galilee, South Golan, North Golan and the conflict line must enter a protected area and stay there until further notice.”
BREAKING: Northern Israeli port city Haifa moments ago - alertpic.twitter.com/FPOw9GfSHq
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 11, 2023
RESCUE FLIGHTS RETREAT AMID AIRPORT ATTACK
British Airways diverted rescue planes mid-flight and suspended all services to Israel as Hamas shelled airports and ‘hostile aircraft’ crossed the Lebanon border.
In a worrying sign for civilians stuck in Israel as the violence escalates, the UK carrier turned a flight headed to Israel back to London after a missile struck Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
While aviation authorities have not yet grounded flights to Israel, airlines have been cautioned about security risks amid continued attacks from multiple fronts.
Israel urged citizens in the north to shelter after “hostile aircraft” entered from Lebanon. While they didn’t specify what aircraft, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists are known the use drones and gliders in their attacks.
🚨A report was recieved regarding a suspected infiltration from Lebanon into Israeli airspace.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023
ISRAEL PREPARED FOR TWO-FRONT WAR
Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Sky News it’s prepared for Hezbollah to enter the war.
“We don’t want to see an escalation in the north, but if a two-front war is forced upon us, we won’t be caught by surprise. We are prepared, we are ready and we will prevail,” he said.
“It is not easy, but no war is ever easy. We have been planning for the possibility … and we can fight, if need be a two-front war.”
ALL ISRAELI’S NEAR GAZA GIVEN RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
Israel’s security minister announced all citizens in Sderot, less than 4km from the Gaza Strip, will be allowed to carry a weapon.
In response to the Hamas attack, about 10,600 new applications for a gun licence were submitted, according to the national security ministry.
“As of today, every resident of Sderot can receive a licence to carry a weapon,”
Itamr Ben-Givr said, adding the rule change will be extended to additional towns.
MEET MOHAMMED DEIF: THE MAN BEHIND THE MASSACRE
When Israel began dropping bombs on the Gaza Strip, a massive cluster was aimed at targets across the Qizan an Najjar neighbourhood in Khan Yunis in search of one man.
Palestinian terrorist Mohammad Deif, the elusive Hamas mastermind behind the massacre in Israel, is never seen and has rarely been heard in three decades on the top of Israel’s most wanted list.
‘WORSE THAN ISIS’: IMAGES EMERGE OF BABY MASSACRE
The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu released an image showing the bed and play area of a young child smothered in blood and chaos.
“Worst than ISIS,” he said, without need to elaborate further.
The world has been horrified by the death toll from the massacre, including 40 children in one kibbutz where babies were beheaded and their families burned alive.
KING CHARLES ‘APPALLED BY BARBARIC TERRORISM’
“This is a situation His Majesty is extremely concerned about, and he has asked to be kept actively updated,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.
“His thoughts and prayers are with all of those suffering, particularly those who have lost loved ones, but also those actively involved as we speak.
“Obviously it goes without saying that His Majesty is appalled by and condemns the barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel.”
US, ISRAELI SOLDIERS HAILED HEROES
Israeli-American soldier Roey Weiser died saving the lives of 12 from Hamas terrorist attacks, his mother said.
Naomi Feifer-Weiser said the 21-year-old staff sergeant sacrificed himself to give others cover to flee the military base at the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
He held the line alone to cover their retreat from the overwhelming flood of Islamic Jihadists.
At least 14 Americans have been confirmed in the rising death toll.
“He died how he lived, by putting others first and when his base was overrun by terrorists, he went on his own to divert their attention allowing others to escape,” she told CNN.
“Because of his bravery, at least 12 other soldiers are alive today.”
Inbar Lieberman led a group of residents to kill more than 24 militants while defending the kibbutz, a kilometre from the Gaza Strip.
ISRAEL FORMS EMERGENCY GOVERNMENT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz have agreed to form an emergency government and a joint war cabinet.
The move accelerates decision-making ahead of an expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, where Hamas terrorists have ferreted away 150 hostages to be used as human shields.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will also join the war cabinet, which has been formed for “real influence” over Israel’s response to the terror attack.
FATHER’S PLEA FOR DAUGHTER
The father of a young women kidnapped by Hamas on the back of a motorbike to Gaza, has sent a heartbreaking televised message to his only daughter, saying: “Help me wish her a happy birthday, it would mean the world to me”.
After horrifying footage emerged of the moment the Chinese-Israeli student, Noa Argamani, was snatched by Hamas militants and dragged away as she pleaded for her life, her father Yaakov said in tears: “On Thursday, October 12th, it will be Noa’s 26th birthday … Please help me deliver a message to her, and wish her a happy birthday. It would mean the world to me”.
His plea on Chinese Phoenix News television was reposted on the Israel Foreign Ministry Twitter account on Thursday and comes after Noa, 25, was seen at a festival in the desert when the militants dragged her away on a motorcycle as she begged “Don’t kill me”.
The disturbing footage released by Hamas showed her pleading with her captors to let her go after the terrorists stormed the Supernova festival in the Israeli desert.
She was seen screaming “Don’t kill me! No, no, no”, as the gunmen speed away with her trapped in between them.
Unverified footage of a woman dressed in the same green jacket as Noa has since been shared widely online. She is seen drinking from a water bottle as she was reportedly being held in a safe house by the terrorists.
‘ANCIENT EVIL’: EU CHIEF DECLARES
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has declared the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ killing of Israeli civilians a cold-blooded act of war and reflected an “ancient evil”.
“We have to be clear in defining this kind of horror,” she said. “And there can only be one response to it. Europe stands with Israel. And we fully support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
“It is terrorism. And it is an act of war,” von der Leyen said.
Addressing the start of a meeting of European commissioners, von der Leyen also supported a full review of the EU’s multi-million-euro financial support for Palestinian projects.
But the EU is also concerned that Israel keep its response within the limits of international law.
“Hamas terrorists killed women and children in their homes. They hunted hundreds of young men and women who were celebrating life and music,” von der Leyen told the European Commission.
“They took hostage hundreds of innocents, whose fate is still unknown,” she said.
“These innocents were killed for one single reason: For being Jewish and living in the State of Israel. It is an ancient evil, which reminds us of the darkest past and shocks all of us to the core.”
QUESTIONS RAISED OVER EU AID FOR TERRORISTS
Von der Leyen also addressed a debate raging in Brussels over the European Union’s huge budget to support the Palestinian Authority and state-building projects in Palestinian territories.
The EU commissioner in charge of relations with Europe’s neighbours, Hungary’s Oliver Varhelyi, has called for aid to be suspended pending a review of whether any leaked to armed groups like Hamas.
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, with the backing of most member state foreign ministers, wants funding to continue while any review is carried out to avoid punishing Palestinian civilians.
“Our humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is not in question. Yet it is important that we carefully review our financial assistance for Palestine,” von der Leyen said.
“EU funding has never and will never go to Hamas or any terrorist entity. So we will now again review the entire portfolio in light of an evolving situation on the ground.”
MASSIVE TURNOUT FOR JEWISH VIGIL IN SYDNEY
Thousands of people from the Jewish community assembled in Sydney’s east on Wednesday evening, holding flags for a sombre vigil mourning those killed in Hamas’ brutal attacks in Israel.
Security was in high alert as dozens of police and private CSG security lined the streets near Rodney Reserve in Dover Heights. The road leading to the park was blocked off by police, with cops on horseback patrolling the area.
More than 9000 people waving the Israeli flag stood sombrely at the music filled vigil. Many held up photos of family and friends who were killed in Saturday’s attack.
The grandchildren of Sydney woman Galit Carbone, who was slaughtered outside her home in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip, stood at the front of the crowd, holding photos of their beloved grandmother.
Jewish and political leaders addressed the crowd all condemning Hamas.
HEZBOLLAH CLAIMS MISSILE ATTACK
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired missiles on Israel on Wednesday in retaliation for the killing of three members earlier this week amid soaring tensions as Israel battles Gaza militants.
Hezbollah “targeted a Zionist (Israeli) position … facing Dhayra village, with guided missiles,” in a “firm response to Zionist attacks … which led to the martyrdom of a number of brothers,” the group said in a statement.
‘UNITY IS STRONGER’: ZELENSKYY’S PLEA TO WORLD LEADERS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the West to rally around the people of Israel as they did around Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, and show them they are not “alone”.
“My recommendation to the leaders to go to Israel and I think to support people, just people I’m not speaking about any institutions, just to support people who have been under terrorist attacks,” he said on a visit to NATO headquarters.
“The people who are dying now. It’s very important. Unity is more important than to be alone, it is stronger.”
ON THE GROUND IN TEL AVIV
News Corp Australia’s European Correspondent Danielle Gusmaroli ran for cover as rocket sirens sounded across Tel Aviv.
“Boom, boom,” sounded the Iron Dome — Israel’s mobile all-weather air defence system — as it intercepts the rocket fired from Gaza bound for the city 71.3km away.
“That’s our God, he’s working for us again,” says a man in his late 50s in a chequered shirt and shorts frantically sweeping the debris with a broom.
The bomb shelter is messy, with old pots of dried tinned paint and tools piled on a rotting wooden shelf. Dislodged bricks and stones are strewn across the ground from bombings past.
Around 10 people are cramped inside the 5m by 5m windowless shelter, with a ceiling so low many had to scrunch their necks to enter.
One young man in his late twenties turns on the torch light on his mobile phone.
“Sorry it’s a bit messy in here, is this your first air raid siren?” he asks, focusing in the dim light on the new face in the room.
“We’ll make it cleaner for you next time,” he jokes and moods lighten briefly.
“You look worried,” he says, “don’t worry, you get used to it.”
“Welcome to our lives, this is Tel Aviv. You have to wait here 10 minutes to make sure if there is any shrapnel it has all fallen.”
POPE SENDS MESSAGE TO HAMAS
Pope Francis has called for the immediate release of hostages taken in fighting between Hamas and Israel, and expressed his concern over the siege of Gaza.
“I ask that the hostages be released immediately,” the 86-year-old head of the worldwide Catholic Church said at the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican.
He added: “It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but I am very worried about the total siege in which the Palestinians live in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims.
“Terrorism and extremism do not help reach a solution to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, but fuel hatred, violence, revenge and only make both sides suffer.
“The Middle East does not need war but peace, a peace built on justice, dialogue and the courage of fraternity.”
‘RAPED, BRUTALISED’: GRAPHIC IMAGES SURFACE
Israel’s Director of the Digital Diplomacy Bureau David Saranga posted graphic pictures to social media showing the bloody remains of what appears to be a child’s bedroom, including a plastic tub full of children’s toys.
Another shows a lounge room with massive pools of blood on the floor.
“Women and girls raped. People burned alive. Young kids kidnapped. Babies brutalised. Parents executed in front of their young children,” Mr Saranga wrote.
QANTAS TO BRING AUSSIES HOME
Australia will make two repatriation flights out of Israel, joining other nations using national carriers to rescue their citizens stranded in the country as the war threatens to escalate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that from Friday two Qantas flights will be made from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to London and safety.
There are an estimated 12,000 Australians and or dual nationals in the country but also many tourists left stranded after numerous international flights were cancelled, some until December.
‘UNEQUIVOCALLY CONDEMNED’: ALBANESE
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told the Jewish community that his government unequivocally condemns the attacks by Hamas while speaking at a Melbourne synagogue on Wednesday afternoon.
“The images we have seen from Israel, I believe, have taken a toll on all Australians,” he said.
“The government and the people of Australia unequivocally condemned the attack.”
Mr Albanese said there was no place for anti-semitism in Australia.
“Over 1,000 people in Israel have been killed, as many as 150 people taken from Israel and held hostage in Gaza,” he said.
“I know many of you are spending sleepless nights waiting desperately to hear from loved ones.
“Many of you have family and friends who are being called up to serve and many of you will fear a rise in anti-semitism here at home.
“I want to assure you, that kind of hateful prejudice has no place in Australia.”
‘GAZA WILL NO LONGER BE’: ISRAELI DEFENCE MINISTER
The IDF fighter jets strafed Gaza City, hitting another 450 Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets, reducing neighbourhoods to rubble. Many were close to the port. But also struck was Rafah, the only border crossing available for Gazans to flee into Egypt. All other border crossings from the enclave remain shut.
The IDF said the demolished infrastructure was being used by both terror organisations to direct fire into Israel.
As the war enters its fifth day, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking to soldiers near the Gaza fence, said there will be a lot more, adding he had “released all restraints”.
“Hamas wanted a change and it will get one. What was in Gaza will no longer be,” he vowed.
“We started the offensive from the air, later on we will also come from the ground. We’ve been controlling the area since Day 2 and we are on the offensive. It will only intensify.
“Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors — we will eliminate him at the height of our power and without compromise.”
US WEAPONS LAND IN ISRAEL
The first supply of US weapons has now landed in Israel, including unspecified advanced armaments “to facilitate significant military operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios”.
Some of the armaments were interceptors to rearm Israel’s Iron Dome defence missile system.
REALITY IN GAZA
The United Nations said more than 260,000 Gazans had been made homeless, many huddling on streets or in schools and there appeared no way out.
Hospitals had been overwhelmed with 4500 wounded since Israeli air strikes began in response to Hamas’ surprise brutal attack early Saturday. Among the dead in Gaza are more than 200 children.
Israel has said that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza are holding about 150 soldiers and civilians hostage with their captors threatening to kill a hostage for every Gaza civilian home destroyed including as collateral damage to targeted Hamas stations.
Israel has now cut off water, food, fuel and other supplies to the 2.3 million people in Gaza and advised them to leave the territory to Egypt before troops move in.
US President Joe Biden has offered support but said there would be no US boots on the ground.
– with AFP
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