Over the weekend, Israel’s defense minister announced troops are moving quickly through the Gaza Strip, indicating a “new phase” of the war has been entered.
“We moved to the next stage in the war,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a broadcast according to The Associated Press. “Last evening, the ground shook in Gaza. We attacked above ground and underground. … The instructions to the forces are clear. The campaign will continue until further notice.”
Israeli Defense Forces flooded Gaza with leaflets warning residents that the city is now a “battlefield.”
“To the residents of the Gaza Strip: The Gaza governorate (Gaza City) has become a battlefield. Shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza governorate are not safe,” leaflets dropped by fighter jets warned, according to AFP.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the primary goal: eliminate Hamas. “Our heroic fighters have one goal: To destroy this enemy and to make sure the existence of our country. Never again. ‘Never again,’ is now,” he said in a televised address to the nation, according to CNN.
As of now, as many as 8,700 people on both sides have been killed, according to Fox News. That includes 1,400 Israeli civilians and 33 Americans. The Gaza health ministry says that more than 7,400 Palestinians have been killed, including 110 in the West Bank, according to the outlet. In addition, 229 are believed to being held captive, including at least 10 Americans.
