Fears of a major ground invasion of Gaza are reverberating across the Middle East as Israel plans its response to the worst attack it has suffered in decades.
Hamas militants rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday, taking soldiers and civilians hostage and killing at least 250 people as they retreated, marking Israel’s worst day of violence since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. Ta.
Israel responded with devastating retaliatory strikes, killing more than 230 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
As of 1:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. Japan time), Israeli forces were still fighting Hamas in some areas of southern Israel, and the situation in the country was not completely under control.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, said the unprecedented attack by land, air and sea was a response to the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and decades of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to fight Hamas to the bitter end and told Gaza residents, who are under Israeli land, air and sea blockade, to “leave the territory now.”
“We will take strong revenge on this dark day,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “We will take revenge for all the young people who lost their lives. We will target all positions of Hamas. We will turn Gaza into a deserted island. To the residents of Gaza I say: . We have to leave now. We’ll target every inch of the Strip.”
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the offensive, which began in Gaza, would spread to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
“This was a morning of defeat and humiliation for our enemies, their soldiers and settlers,” Haniya said in a speech. “What happened reveals the greatness of our preparations. What happened today reveals the weakness of the enemy.”
“Kill and capture”
Late Saturday, residents in southern Israel had not yet been given permission to leave the shelters where they had been hiding from attackers since early morning.
In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes sent black smoke and orange flames rising into the evening sky from high-rise towers. Crowds carried the bodies of fighters wrapped in green Hamas flags through the streets.
The dead and injured in Gaza were rushed to overcrowded and crumbling hospitals with a severe shortage of medical supplies and equipment. The Ministry of Health said 232 people were killed and at least 1,700 injured.
Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, told Al Jazeera that Hamas is holding a number of Israeli prisoners, including senior military officials. He said Hamas has enough prisoners that Israel could release all the Palestinians in prison.
“We succeeded in killing and capturing many Israeli soldiers,” he said.
While world leaders have called for restraint, many observers predict a major ground attack on Gaza is likely underway.
“There will be a second act, and that will be the invasion of Gaza, and I think it will be bigger than in 2014, when Israel called up 80,000 reservists,” said Yona Jeremy Bobb, a military analyst at The Jerusalem Post. said.
“Within a day or two, Israel will have a large army capable of overwhelming Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip,” Bob told Al Jazeera.
“The world is watching”
US President Joe Biden condemned the “unconscionable” attack by Hamas fighters and vowed to ensure Israel has “what it takes to defend itself.” He told Netanyahu that the United States “stands with the Israeli people.”
“Israel has the right to defend itself and its people to the fullest. Terrorist attacks can never be justified, and my administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock-solid and unwavering,” Biden said.
Biden also warned Israel’s enemies that “this is not the time for political parties that are hostile to Israel to profit from these attacks.” The world is paying attention. ”
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Egypt is in talks with Saudi Arabia and Jordan to ease tensions between Palestine and Israel.
Pro-Hamas demonstrations took place across the Middle East, setting Israeli and US flags on fire and marching in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen waving Palestinian flags.
In Iran, Israel’s arch-rival in the region, parliamentarians opened Saturday with chants of “Death to Israel” and “Israel is doomed and Palestine will be the conqueror.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Qanani said: “Today’s operation marks a new chapter in the field of resistance and armed operations against the occupiers.”
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon to celebrate the Hamas operation.
“Do whatever you need to do.”
Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli parliament, said there would be a counterattack against Hamas.
“We need to take into account that the people of Gaza will have to pay a price. Unlike Hamas, we do not intend to harm civilians, but when we corner Hamas, we will be strong, we will be efficient, we will be able to We will do whatever it takes to corner them,” Danon told Al Jazeera.
“Today, on a Jewish holiday, we cannot stand idly by as more than 200 Israeli civilians are slaughtered and massacred.”
Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the website Electronic Intifada, said 80 years of Israeli oppression and “genocide” in Palestine were behind Saturday’s violence.
“The Palestinian people are in a just struggle for liberation. He will fight back with great motivation for what he has lived with for so many years,” he told Al Jazeera.