Israel Expanding its Operations in Gaza
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 28: The Israel was claimed to be expanding its ground operation in Gaza with infantry and armoured vehicles backed by “massive” strikes from the air and sea even as Hamas has offered to release all Israeli hostages if Israel freed all Palestinians held in prison, the Israeli military spokesman said on Saturday.
Israel knocked out internet and communications in the Gaza strip and stepped-up bombardment on Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from contact with each other and the outside world and creating a near-blackout of information, as the military said it was “expanding” ground operations in the territory.
Hamas today said it was ready to release Israeli hostages if Israel freed all Palestinians held in its prisons. Hamas’ demand came amid Israel’s massive ground offensive in Gaza City today, which Israel said has now “turned into a battlefield.”
Putting forth a demand for the release of hostages, a Hamas spokesperson said Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners in exchange. Earlier in the day, Hamas said they were trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens who were taken hostages in order to free them on Moscow’s request. Russia has good relations with Hamas, which it does not consider to be a terror group, and has begun a diplomatic effort to try to free hostages held in Gaza.
Israel also said it was recalling its diplomatic staff from Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at its military campaign in Gaza. “Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a re-evaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a post on X.
Israel also released some video clips to substantiate its claim that Hamas was using hospitals in Gaza for military purposes. It released two videos of what it claims to be the interrogation of “Hamas terrorists” to prove the Gaza Strip group has been using the biggest hospital in the Palestine territory for military purposes. Israel said its war with Hamas had “entered a new phase” as the army relentlessly pounded Gaza three weeks into a conflict sparked by the deadliest attack in the country’s history. Israel’s military accused Hamas of using hospitals in Gaza as operations centres for directing attacks, which Hamas denied.
Internet and phone services were also cut off amid the overnight strikes on Friday. Human Rights Watch, an NGO, has expressed concern that a communication blackout risks providing cover for mass atrocities. A thick haze of smoke covered Gaza and southern Israel after the night of heavy bombardment, according to journalists covering the war.
The Israeli military believes the Hamas leadership and its main infrastructure are concentrated in the north, which is where the country has now launched relentless strikes, days after it asked civilians to leave north Gaza and move to the South. Gaza witnessed intense raids last night with the Israeli army claiming a top Hamas commander and several operatives being killed in air attacks.
Israel said that they had hit 150 “underground targets” of the Hamas. Israel Defence spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the troops were “still in the field” and claimed that they were fighting a weaker enemy. He also said aid trucks, carrying food and water, will be allowed into Gaza on Sunday. Not only has the region been hit by the Israeli strikes, they are also facing severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicines.
Hamas has said its operatives were ready to confront Israeli attacks with “full force” in Gaza. The Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza had said its operatives were clashing with Israeli troops in areas near the border with Israel.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said “Israeli obstacles” including truck inspection procedures were impeding the prompt delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian enclave. “The trucks must be inspected at the Israeli Nitzana crossing before they head to the Rafah crossing on a journey that takes a distance of 100 kilometres before they actually enter the Rafah crossing, which causes obstacles that significantly delay the arrival of aid,” a Ministry spokesperson said.
Israel’s military was moving to a new phase of its war with Hamas in Gaza, the Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said, as ground forces continued operations in the bombarded Palestinian enclave. “This war has stages and today we are moving to the next stage. Our forces are currently operating on the ground in the Gaza Strip,” Halevi said in a televised message on Saturday.
In Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies since the Israel-Hamas war began, courting his Islamist political base a day ahead of the centenary of Turkey’s secular republic. “Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it,” Mr. Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags. “We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal,” he said.
