The Israeli military said it was waiting for a “political decision” to launch a ground attack on the Gaza Strip, which it has been bombing relentlessly in response to a deadly Hamas attack on October 7.
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Israel has urged residents of the besieged northern Palestinian territories, about 1.1 million people out of a total population of 2.4 million, to flee south, saying it is targeting the northern city of Gaza to destroy the center of operations of the ruling Islamist movement. .
Tens of thousands of Gazans have already moved south, according to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), while Israel has massed tens of thousands of soldiers around the Gaza Strip.
In two separate press conferences, IDF spokesmen Richard Hecht and Daniel Hagari indicated that a “political decision” must precede any invasion.
“We will have discussions with the political level,” Mr. Hecht said.
Thousands of Israeli air strikes have been carried out on the Gaza Strip since the attack launched by Hamas commandos on Israeli territory.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel, according to Israeli officials, and at least 126 hostages held by Hamas have been identified. The Israeli response led to the deaths of more than 2,300 people in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Minister discussed the evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip and “humanitarian issues” during talks with members of the US Senate on Sunday, the office of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant reported.
He stressed “military strength” and “Israel’s determination to destroy the enemy.”
Israeli military spokesmen told reporters that the invasion of the Gaza Strip aims to eliminate the Hamas network to prevent it from carrying out further attacks.
According to Mr. Hecht, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is on the horizon because he is considered the mastermind of the October 7 attack: “He is a dead man walking and we will go to him.”
