The Israeli Army is fully engaged in ground operations in Gaza. Israeli political leadership is aware of the length of time it will take to fully clear Hamas of terrorism and hopefully find hostages.
Air and artillery bombardments preceded infantry and armored advances, where troops probe Hamas fighters into exposing themselves by firing onto suspected positions. Fox News said:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced that his forces have entered the “second stage” of its war with the terrorist group Hamas, calling the fight a “second War of Independence.”
”The war inside the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it,” Netanyahu said during a press conference in the evening, local time. “This is our second War of Independence.”
Gaza civilians are desperately short of food, water, and electricity. Law and order is beginning to break down as Hamas militants are now focusing on war with Israel. The Financial Times reports:
The UN said thousands of desperate Palestinians were breaking into its warehouses in Gaza to seize flour and other staples, in a sign that civil order was starting to break down in the enclave.
Israel has bombarded Gaza for three weeks since the Hamas attack on the country on October 7 in which at least 1,400 Israelis were killed, the deadliest day in the nation’s 75-year history. Hamas also took 229 hostages, both civilians and soldiers, whom it continues to hold.
While Israel’s war against Hamas could take months, the political question of the Strip is now a high priority. Israel and Palestine could benefit from a new approach, such as more trading with Gaza, once Hamas is gone.
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