Israel prepares for a ground attack in Gaza

Jerusalem [Israel], October 12: The death toll in five days of fierce fighting between Hamas and Israel increased sharply on October 11 as Israel continued to airstrike the Gaza Strip and prepare for a ground attack campaign.
Israel on October 11 said that the previous night it had sent dozens of fighter jets to attack more than 200 targets in an area of ​​Gaza City (in the Gaza Strip ) that they believed was used by Hamas to launch an illegal attack. suspected of targeting southern Israel on October 7, according to Reuters.
Casualties increased sharply
Gaza health authorities reported at least 950 people were killed and 5,000 injured in the territory. Meanwhile in Israel, the death toll in last weekend's Hamas attack rose to 1,200, making this event the deadliest attack in the Jewish country's 75-year history, according to AFP. Hamas confirmed that two of its top officials were killed, while the Israeli army announced that it had found the bodies of about 1,500 Hamas fighters who infiltrated Israel.
The conflict continues to escalate in the context that Israel may be about to launch a ground attack in Gaza, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. According to Reuters, Mr. Gallant warned that "what was once present in Gaza will no longer be", while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel's military response in recent days is only the beginning of a long war. aimed at destroying Hamas, the Palestinian political-military organization that has controlled Gaza since 2007 and "changed the Middle East".
However, a ground attack brings many risks to Israel, especially the safety of the lives of hostages that Hamas takes from Israel, including foreign citizens. Hamas has threatened that for every Palestinian home Israel attacks, it will execute a hostage, but as of October 11 there was still no sign that it had done so.
At the same time, the Israeli army said it shelled southern Lebanese towns on October 11 in response to anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the rocket attack, saying it was a response to Israeli attacks. With artillery shells launched from Syrian territory falling into open areas in Israel, concerns about the risk of widespread war are increasing.
America and Russia continue to speak out
At the White House, US President Joe Biden said Washington is urgently providing more military support to Israel, including ammunition and interceptor missiles to strengthen the Iron Dome air defense system, according to Reuters. . Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for Israel and Jordan on October 11.
The US can also dispatch a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean , after deploying the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group. Politico quoted two Pentagon officials as revealing that the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying fleet of ships and aircraft were scheduled to depart from a base in Virginia (USA) this week and could receive ordered to deploy near Israel.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the United States for the violence between Israel and Hamas, saying Washington's Middle East policy had failed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was in contact with both sides in the conflict.
The US is negotiating with Israel and Egypt on the idea of ​​opening a safe corridor for Gaza civilians amid concerns about humanitarian issues in the area. In response to Hamas' attack on October 7, Israel launched a "comprehensive siege" campaign against Gaza, stopping the supply of food, water, electricity and fuel to the territory, which has been isolated for many years.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper