Israel gears up for ground invasion of Gaza: Netanyahu ...while Hamas predicts Israel's defeat

“Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be,” Netanyahu said.

 

The Israeli official also advised civilians in the strip to move to the south, a warning which has been repeated in recent days.

 

According to Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi, Israel coordinates the beginning of the invasion of Gaza with the United States.

"In any case, coordination is underway. And with the US, and with others. And the French were, the Italians, the Germans and so on," he emphasised, and added that this coordination is a consequence of allied relations with Western countries.

 

He also announced that Israel is actively conscripting Russians with dual citizenship. "They are citizens of Israel, they are subject to everything that applies to any Israeli citizen," he emphasised. According to him, thousands of Russian citizens have already been drafted into the Israeli army.

 

Meanwhile, the Hamas group said that Israel would be defeated if it launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

 

"In case the enemy goes overland, it will be a new and glorious page for our people, it will be an unprecedented defeat of the occupiers in the history of the conflict," the TV channel quoted the deputy head of the Hamas Politburo Saleh al-Arouri as saying.

He emphasised that Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah are in constant contact. "Hezbollah is operating at all levels, both military and political, and this battle is their battle and we have one goal and one destiny," al-Arouri said.

 

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said that 224 hostages previously taken by the Palestinian group Hamas are being held in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, 212 hostages held by Palestinian Hamas were reported.

"The families of the 224 hostages have been notified that their loved ones are being held in the Gaza Strip. This figure is not final as the military is investigating new information. It does not include the four hostages already released this week," Hagari told The Times of Israel. The IDF spokesman added that the whereabouts of "almost all of the hostages" are already known for sure, but there are no plans to disclose the data.

 

At the same moment, the Palestinian death toll keeps growing as Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza territories.

 

 

The number of dead as a result of the bombing by the Israeli Air Force of the territory adjacent to the Nasser medical complex in the city of Khan Younis has increased to 15.

Earlier there was information about at least 4 dead and 60 wounded as a result of a strike by Israeli forces on Khan Younis, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The Nasser compound is located in close proximity to the central part of the city. The wounded include many children and teenagers, and dozens of people may be under the rubble of several collapsed buildings during the Israeli attack. It is noted that the bombing was carried out in the area, which earlier the Israeli army declared a "security zone", as well as without prior warning to the population about the raid.

 

Israeli tanks took part in a “targeted raid” overnight in northern Gaza, the army said in a statement on October 26, as it prepared its forces for a ground invasion.

“Overnight, the IDF conducted a targeted raid using tanks in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of preparations for the next stages of combat,” the army said.

“The soldiers exited the area at the end of the activity.”