Israeli artillery is hitting Gaza targets every 30 seconds, “like clockwork”, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP). All signs indicate so far that Israel is leaving no place to run for Hamas terrorists, who are believed to be hiding among Gaza civilians. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown US Secretary of State Antony Blinken photos of little babies murdered and burnt by Hamas. An X post from the @IsraeliPM handle last night gave a “sensitive content” warning to viewers before showing the truly “horrifying photos”.
As Israel prepares for a ground offensive into Gaza with the tactical support of the US military, the @IsraeliPM handle emphasised what the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has already said about Hamas. The X post accompanying the burnt baby photos said: “Hamas is inhuman. Hamas is ISIS.”
Earlier, a video address released by the IDF had said that the Hamas strategy was similar to that of ISIS — both groups wanted to kill as many civilians as possible. The IDF had also said that according to Israeli intelligence, Hamas operatives hid in civilian spaces such as homes, schools, and hospitals.
The social network X is being used extensively by Israel to highlight the savagery of what is being done to Israelis by Hamas. The same platform is also being used by Palestinians and Palestine supporters to allege that it is Israel that is committing war crimes in Gaza.
Israel, which has already lost an estimated 1,200 people in the current Hamas attacks that started on Saturday morning, has kept the morale of its people up by releasing a video of Jewish-origin soldiers flying in from other countries to take part in the war with Hamas. Prime Minister Netanyahu also released a photo early this morning, standing with a group of Israeli soldiers — a unifying image.
Netanyahu posted on X: “I salute you, each one of you, I salute you. Know that the entire people of Israel stands behind you. This is no empty phrase. The people of Israel stand behind you, relies on you and together we will win. Thank you all, thank you.”
Yesterday, Netanyahu and his war cabinet had detailed discussions with Blinken, who arrived in Tel Aviv for high-level talks — one of the top items on the agenda was securing the release of people taken hostage by Hamas from Israel, hostages that included American citizens. The war cabinet includes Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; National Unity Chairman MK Benny Gantz; and MK Gadi.
“This is a particular time, a special time, that we must stand tall, proud and united against evil. Tony, you are taking that stand. America is taking that stand. Thank you for being here today. Thank you, America for standing with Israel today, tomorrow and always,” posted Netanyahu, addressing Blinken.
Describing the intensity of this conflict, the AFP report published on www.france24.com said: “Israel has vowed to ‘crush’ Hamas after gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist group stormed across the border and killed 1,200 people — the deadliest attack on [Israel] since it was founded 75 years ago.”
As reported earlier, Israel has sent heavy reinforcements to the border fence with Gaza and called up 300,000 reservist soldiers for military duty. AFP reported: “In a statement on Thursday the [Israeli] army said it has bombarded Gaza with approximately 6,000 munitions containing a total of 4,000 tonnes of explosives since Saturday when it began striking Hamas targets.” Netanyahu has said that Hamas would be wiped off the face of the earth.