Gallant: Israel moving to full offence
'Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors, we will eliminate him with all our might, and without compromise'
(Times of Israel) – Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that the Israel Defence Forces is moving to a “full offence” against the Gaza Strip, as sporadic clashes with Hamas terrorists in southern Israel continued for the fourth day.
Missiles were also launched at northern Israel from both Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, with the Israeli military shelling posts in both nations in response, as fighting continued in southern Israel in the wake of a major attack launched by the Palestinian Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
In an address to troops along the Gaza border, Gallant said, “You will have the ability to change the reality here. Hamas wanted a change in Gaza; it will change 180 degrees from what it thought.
“They will regret this moment, Gaza will never go back to what it was.
“Whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors, we will eliminate him with all our might, and without compromise.”
An Egyptian official told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that Cairo has been informed by Israel that it is readying for a months-long ground campaign in Gaza.
The official said Israel has thus far dismissed Egypt’s efforts to mediate any sort of de-escalation, indicating that it wants to deal a knockout blow to Hamas before entertaining the idea of a ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told US President Joe Biden on Monday that Israel has no choice but to launch a ground operation in Gaza.
“We have to go in. We can’t negotiate now,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the Axios news site. “We need to restore deterrence.” According to the report, which cited three US and Israeli sources, Biden did not try to change Netanyahu’s mind.
In the north, the IDF said 15 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee, setting off sirens in several towns. Four projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system, while the rest landed in open areas, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF said.
The military initially said in a statement that it had launched artillery strikes in response to the rocket attack, and in a later statement, said tanks had shelled two posts belonging to the Hezbollah terror group.
A short while later, an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was launched from Lebanon at an armoured vehicle near the northern town of Avivim, the IDF said. The military said a combat helicopter struck a third Hezbollah post in response to that attack.
“The IDF is prepared for all scenarios and will continue to protect the residents of the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement.
Hamas later claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, and Hezbollah said it had carried out the ATGM attack.
Later Tuesday, a number of mortars were fired from Syria at the Golan Heights. The IDF said several of the projectiles crossed into Israeli territory and landed in open areas, causing no damage. The IDF said it carried out artillery strikes in Syria in response, targeting the origin of the mortars.
The attacks came a day after Israeli forces clashed with terrorists on the Lebanon border. The clashes left three Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists dead.
Three Hezbollah members were killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombing against the terror group’s sites.
Meanwhile, all coalition party heads gave their backing on Tuesday to Netanyahu to establish an “emergency national government”.
An agreement for Benny Gantz’s National Unity party to join such a government has yet to be reached, although it was expected to be reached shortly.
“Every head of the coalition parties, without exception, supported the establishment of an emergency national government and authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act to create it,” a Likud spokesman said.
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