Netanyahu says Gaza ground assault coming, Biden wants ‘humanitarian pause’ in war

Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza to wipe out Hamas, the terror group which controls the Palestinian enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday (local time).

However, he did not disclose the timing or other details about the operation. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said the decision on Israeli forces entering Gaza would be taken by the government’s special war cabinet, which includes the leader of one of the centrist opposition parties, news agency Reuters reported.

“Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be,” he said.

Netanyahu asserted that Israel has killed “thousands of terrorists and this was only the beginning”.

In his address, Netanyahu referred to October 7, the day when Hamas launched unprecedented attacks on Israel by air, sea and land, as a “black day of our history”. He said Israel should win in what he described as “a fight for our existence”, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli leader spoke about the security failures that resulted in the bloody attacks by Hamas and stated that all his colleagues, including himself, would “have to answer, but only when the war was over”.

“I am responsible for securing the future of the country. And right now, my job is to lead the State of Israel and the people to a crushing victory over our enemies,” he was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.

In response to the Hamas attacks, Israel has carried out deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 1,400 people. Over 6,500 Palestinians have been killed in the bombardments, according to the Hamas-ruled health ministry in Gaza.

The Biden administration is pushing for a ‘humanitarian pause’ in the war to allow more aid to get into Gaza amid concerns that the conflict was giving rise to a growing humanitarian crisis with water and stocks of food and medicine running out in the war-torn Palestinian enclave, NBC News reported.

In a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden reiterated Washington’s strong solidarity with Israel. He stressed the “increase” in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and that Israel needed to do “everything in its power to protect innocent civilians”.

Biden laid out the path for a two-state solution, saying Israelis and Palestinians “equally deserve to live side by side in safety, dignity and in peace”.

The call for a ‘humanitarian pause’ came days after world powers converged at the UN Security Council, calling for a temporary halt in the bloody fighting between Israel and Hamas and pushing more aid into the Gaza Strip.

At the Security Council ministerial meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken batted for consideration of a ‘humanitarian pause’ in the war so that all life-saving necessities reach the civilians in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound and an observation post in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, CNN reported.

This came after the IDF said that terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at its troops station in Avivim in northern Israel. The IDF forces were engaged in retaliatory firing after the attack from the Lebanese side.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin spoke with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday to receive updates on Israel’s operations to restore security following the Hamas’s attacks, a statement by the US Department of Defence said.

“Secretary Austin reiterated his appreciation for Israel’s role in facilitating humanitarian aid convoys into Gaza and repeated his calls for Israel to ensure the protection of civilians. The two leaders acknowledged the release of two hostages on October 23 and called for the release of the remaining hostages,” it added.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a resolution in support of Israel in the war against Hamas, CNN reported. The resolution was passed by 412-10 with nine Democrats and one Republican voting against it.

Notably, this was the first measure on the floor after Speaker Mike Johnson was elected, ending a three-week leadership vacuum in the Republican-held House.