Israeli defence chief says troops will soon see Gaza ‘from inside’
GAZA/JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave “from inside”, suggesting an expected ground invasion with the aim of annihilating Hamas could be nearing.
Israel pounded Gaza with more air strikes on Thursday over the Oct 7 rampage by Hamas gunmen who killed 1,400 Israelis.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed US President Joe Biden with a visit to demonstrate Western support for the war against Hamas militants. Mr Sunak also met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who called the targeting of Gaza civilians “heinous”.
Israel has put the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people under siege and bombarded the enclave in strikes that have killed thousands and made more than a million homeless.
In Gaza’s north, footage obtained by Reuters from the Jabaliya refugee camp showed residents digging with their bare hands inside a damaged building to free a small boy and girl trapped under masonry. The body of a man was also pulled out.
“You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come,” Mr Gallant told soldiers. He also said the battle will be long and hard.
Troops were not expected to enter while foreign leaders were visiting.
Shortly after Mr Gallant’s statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video of himself with troops near the border promising victory.
“All the indications are that the worst is coming,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters in Amman.
In a statement, Hamas reported an explosion on Thursday at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City where Christians were taking shelter. Hamas reported “huge damage” and “many casualties” at the church, which dates back to the 12th century.
It said Israel had attacked the church, but Reuters was not immediately able to independently confirm a strike nor assess damage, and Israel did not comment on the incident. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem said targeting the church “constitutes a war crime”.
Meanwhile, Egypt took steps to prepare to let in aid through its border crossing with Gaza with first deliveries expected on Friday. The crossing has been out of operation since the first days of the conflict and Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side of the border.
Two Egyptian security sources said equipment was sent on Thursday through its border crossing to repair roads on the Gaza side. More than 100 trucks were waiting in Egypt.
While some officials expected aid to enter Gaza on Friday, the newly appointed US Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues David Satterfield was still meeting Israeli and Egyptian officials to “negotiate the exact modalities” of that agreement, the State Department said.
The families of some of those taken hostage to Gaza from Israel begged Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, to release them and urged the Israeli military to consider their safety as it pursues Hamas.