Israeli PM arrives on front lines as ground offensive is imminent
An Israeli mobile artillery unit fired a shell from southern Israel towards the Gaza Strip, in a position near the Israel-Gaza border, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alerruzzo)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the front lines near Gaza on Saturday and declared his forces were ready to win the war as a major ground operation is expected at any moment.
Netanyahu, wearing an armored vest, met with soldiers near the Gaza Strip to show support and shake their hands, according to videos shared on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“With our fighters in the Gaza Strip, on the front line,” he wrote in an accompanying post. “We are all ready.”
Netanyahu declared war against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip and invaded southern Israel last week. The initial attack killed more than a thousand Israelis.
Israel has wiped out the Hamas militants in the south and bombed Gaza for days, but will need to go deep into the coastal enclave to accomplish Netanyahu’s stated goal of eradicating the militant group.
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Israeli forces have already given more than a million Palestinians in Gaza an evacuation notice, which appears to have expired as of Saturday evening local time.
The evacuation has spurred concerns of a major displacement of Palestinians, who can only flee from northern Gaza to the south before Israel launches its operation to clear out Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are amassing troops and equipment near the border of Gaza to prepare for the imminent invasion.
IDF Gaza Division Commander Avi Rosenfeld also delivered a rallying speech to Israeli troops on Saturday, declaring the “whole country is trusting us” to take out Hamas.
“There are no others in our place,” Rosenfeld said in a video shared by the IDF. “At this time we bow our heads for the deep loss of our many friends [ … but] we only look forward to attack and defend, until we are victorious and we crush and break Hamas.”