Israeli plans for Gaza attacks kept within a small circle
The Israeli army claimed that Hamas was planning some sort of an attack before the strikes but again provided no proof of those claims in its statement.
As we have seen, this is a pattern by the Israeli military throughout 15 months of fighting – in fact since October 2023. According to the Israelis, the plans for the attacks were drawn out by the military last week and given to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his defence minister.
They were kept within a small closed circle because the Israeli officials did not want the information to be leaked. They said they wanted these attacks to be a surprise even though the civilian casualties within Gaza have been catastrophic.
Netanyahu says Israeli strikes on Gaza ‘only the beginning’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Tuesday’s air strikes in Gaza are “only the beginning” and that all ceasefire negotiations will take place “under fire”.
In a recorded statement broadcast on national television, Netanyahu said Israel would press ahead until it realises all of its war goals – destroying Hamas and freeing all captives held by the group.
“The previous releases proved that military pressure is a necessary condition for freeing hostages,” he said.
Bibas says return to war endangers remaining captives
Former captive Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and sons Kfir and Ariel Bibas were killed while being held in Gaza, said the resumption of the war endangers the lives of the remaining captives.
The Israeli government has said that the Bibas children were murdered by their captors, while Hamas maintains that they were killed in an Israeli air strike.
“Israel’s decision to return to fighting brings me back to Gaza, to the moments where I heard the sounds of explosions around me and where I feared for my life as I was afraid that the tunnel where I was being held would collapse,” Bibas said in a social media post.
“My wife and children were kidnapped alive and were brutally murdered in captivity. The military pressure endangers the hostages while an agreement brings them home,” he added.
Israelis protest against resumption of war without captive releases
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