The Israeli army will cancel the ground operation in the Gaza Strip if the militants of the Palestinian Hamas movement release all hostages and lay down their weapons. This was stated by IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus on the Australian ABC television channel.
“If Hamas came out of its hiding places, <….> would return our hostages, all 212 of them, and surrender unconditionally, then the war would end,” Conricus said. He warned that “if they don’t do this,” then “there will have to be a ground operation.”
He also promised that Israeli forces would “completely eliminate Hamas.”
Conricus, however, did not answer questions about why the ground operation was previously postponed. Earlier, The New York Times, citing senior Israeli officers, wrote that the Israel Defense Forces had postponed the planned ground operation, allegedly due to cloudy weather – it could prevent drone operators from providing air support, which should provide cover for ground forces. It was noted that Israeli soldiers were ordered to capture the city of Gaza and destroy the top military and political leadership of the region. Residents of the city have already been asked to evacuate, but they have nowhere to go.
In the same interview, Conricus condemned people who participate in protests in support of Palestine. According to him, they are “either ignorant of what is happening in the Gaza Strip or full of hatred towards Israel over things that have nothing to do with what is happening in Gaza now.” In his opinion, “supporting Hamas means being on the side of terrorists.” Earlier, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas noted that the Islamist movement Hamas is not the legitimate representative of all Palestinians. A similar position was expressed by US President Joe Biden, who spoke out for the existence of a Palestinian state and against the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, as reported by CBS.
Let us remind you that the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated on October 7. On this day, the Palestinian movement attacked Israeli territory with hundreds of rockets and captured several settlements. Israel launched a retaliatory operation by blockading the Gaza Strip. Preparations for ground operations are currently underway.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
