Netanyahu to soldiers: “War all the way or Hamas returns”. And he warns Hezbollah: “It is playing with fire.” Biden: “Less intrusive actions are needed, Al Shifa hospital must be protected”
Hamas “has lost control of Gaza” and Israeli soldiers entered the Parliament in Gaza City with flags. The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, quoted by the Haaretz website, stated that “Hamas does not have the power to stop the IDF”. “Terrorists are fleeing south, while civilians are looting Hamas bases. They have no trust in the government,” he added. A photo circulated on social media shows soldiers from the Golani brigade, carrying three Israeli flags, inside the parliament in Gaza City, after taking possession of the building. Only Hamas representatives have sat in parliament since the group took power in 2007.
The Israeli chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, has meanwhile promised to strengthen security in northern Israel, under the fire of rockets fired by Lebanese Hezbollah. “We are vigorously preparing for an action plan for the north. Our mission is to bring security. The security situation will not remain such that residents of the north do not feel safe enough to return to their homes,” Halevi said , quoted by Israeli media. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he said, had approved specific action plans and instructed the Northern Command to maintain a high level of readiness. Several Israeli communities near the border with Lebanon were temporarily evacuated for security reasons after the Shiite militia Hezbollah and Palestinian groups began shelling the area coinciding with the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu warns Hezbollah: “It is playing with fire”
Against Hamas “it will be war all the way, because if we don’t finish them they will come back”, reiterated the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who with the soldiers of an Army battalion clarified that what is underway with the terrorist group “is a war all the way in the end,” not another round of fighting. Then, praising the soldiers for their response to the October 7 massacre, he said: “What you did here, you decided the direction of the battle, was an unusual achievement, truly enormous. To transform the battle from the worst possible situation means a lot “.
The Israeli prime minister then warned Hezbollah, claiming that the Lebanese Shiite group, with its attacks from southern Lebanon against the Jewish state, “is playing with fire”. “There are those who think they can expand attacks against our troops and civilians. This is playing with fire,” Netanyahu said, without explicitly mentioning Hezbollah. “The fire will meet much stronger fire. They must not test us because we have demonstrated only a small part of our strength. We will harm those who harm us”, added the head of the Israeli government, reiterating that the objective of Israel is “total victory” and “eliminating Hamas”.
Biden: “Less intrusive actions are needed in the Gaza hospital”
US President Joe Biden has urged Israel to protect the Shifa hospital in Gaza. “It is my hope that there will be less intrusive actions in the hospital,” “the hospital must be protected,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office, according to media reports.
Source-www.adnkronos.com