Israel is apparently preparing a major offensive

The Gaza Strip was sealed off and 300,000 reservists were mobilized.

Following the devastating attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists, there are increasing signs of an impending Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel ordered the complete closure of the area, which is only 40 kilometers long and six to twelve kilometers wide, while the army mobilized 300,000 reservists.

“What Hamas will experience will be hard and terrible. We are only at the beginning,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and vowed revenge. “What we do to our enemies in the days to come will reverberate within them for generations.”

Call to flee – but the border crossing is closed

People in Israel have been told to stock up on enough food, water and medicine. The military said supplies should last at least 72 hours.

Military spokesman Richard Hecht advised civilians in the Palestinian Gaza Strip who wanted to seek safety from the air strikes to flee to Egypt. “I am aware that the Rafah border crossing is still open,” military spokesman Richard Hecht told the press. “I would advise anyone who can get out to get out.” His office has now revised this information: “The Rafah border crossing was open yesterday, but is now closed.”

Military: Gaza fence back under control

In the morning, the Israeli military said it was able to regain control of the border fence with the Gaza Strip. “Last day not a single terrorist came over the fence,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari, among others, according to the newspaper “The Times of Israel”. Combat engineering troops are working to mine the areas near the holes in the fence, he said.

Yesterday the military announced that it had regained control of the southern areas attacked by Hamas. However, it still suspects that a small number of Hamas terrorists are on Israeli soil. The Islamist militant Hamas broke through the fence at the weekend and, among other things, entered Israel.

Western heads of government are on the phone

Germany, the USA, Great Britain, France and Italy jointly assured the attacked country of their solidarity. Together we would express “our unwavering and united support” for Israel “and unequivocally condemn Hamas and its terrible acts of terror,” said a federal government statement published that night.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Our five countries will ensure that Israel can defend itself and its citizens against the heinous attacks.”

Hamas threatens to kill hostages

Hamas, meanwhile, threatened to execute a civilian hostage for every attack carried out by Israel, a spokesman said. She had kidnapped around 150 Israeli hostages to the Gaza Strip. These include citizens of several Western countries, and at least one of them is said to be German.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen condemned the threatened killing of abducted Israelis: “This war crime will not be forgiven,” he warned. Israel is determined to bring home the Israelis kidnapped in the Gaza Strip “in a spirit of mutual responsibility,” he said in a video message. “We demand that Hamas not harm any of the hostages.” Israel’s army says it has taken hundreds of Hamas members prisoner.

Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, the USA and Israel, told the Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera that the group was open to mediation. The Islamist organization had previously called for a prisoner exchange and the release of 36 imprisoned Palestinian women in Israel in exchange for the handover of older, kidnapped Israeli women.

At least 900 people killed by Hamas terrorists

At least 900 people were killed and 2,600 people were injured in the attack by Hamas terrorists that began over the weekend. At least eleven American citizens were among the dead, US President Joe Biden said on Platform

There were more than 260 deaths at a music festival in southern Israel alone. The Israeli rescue service Zaka also reported that more than 100 bodies were recovered from the rural Kibbutz Beeri, the scene of a hostage crisis.

According to Israeli President Izchak Herzog, not since the Holocaust have as many Jews been killed in one day as in the Hamas terror attacks on Saturday. “Not since the Holocaust have we seen Jewish women and children, grandparents – even Holocaust survivors – being crammed into trucks and taken into captivity,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Health there, at least 687 people were killed and more than 3,800 injured in the massive Israeli counterstrikes in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army, the bodies of about 1,500 Palestinian terrorists were found on Israeli territory.

More fighting at night

For the approximately two million mostly poor residents of the extremely densely populated Gaza Strip, the situation is likely to worsen further with Israel’s complete closure. Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant said: “There will be no electricity, no food and no fuel.”

Israel’s army continued to attack Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip overnight. The army said the positions were attacked from the air and from ships. The military bombed, among other things, weapons depots, tunnels and a Hamas command center in a mosque.

Meanwhile, there were again clashes with deaths in the West Bank. There were also fighting on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, increasing concerns that the conflict could spread. Israeli soldiers shot several gunmen who had advanced into Israel, the Israeli military said. The Shiite organization Hezbollah, which like Hamas is allied with Iran, denied involvement.

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