NewsRescue
The ground assault in Gaza’s south has already begun, and it will be “no less powerful” than the onslaught in the north, according to Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Sunday.
The general made the remarks while meeting with Israeli troops from the Gaza Division, stating that “yesterday, today, we killed [Hamas] battalion commanders, company commanders, and many operatives,” confirming that the assault against the Palestinian enclave’s southern section began on Saturday.
“It will be no less powerful or produce less results than [the operation in northern Gaza].” “Hamas commanders will clash with the IDF everywhere,” Halevi said.
The Israeli military has “capabilities” to conduct the operation in the “most thorough way,” in the same fashion it did “with strength and thoroughly in the north of the Gaza Strip,” the general said. Alongside the operation in the south, the IDF will continue its attack on northern Gaza in order to “deepen the achievements” there, he added.
The words came after the United States, Israel’s most important ally, advised West Jerusalem against indiscriminately attacking the southern portion of the enclave without “factoring in” those residing there as well as those who fled there from the IDF onslaught in the north.
“We don’t support southern operations unless and until [the Israelis] have factored in all those additional civilians – actually, all civilians, but noting that there are now hundreds of thousands more civilians,” White House National Security Council Director John Kirby told Bloomberg TV on Friday.
According to the local health ministry, the Israeli assault in Gaza, initiated by the October 7 offensive conducted by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, has resulted in the deaths of almost 15,200 Palestinians. The government has been suffering.
