Since last week, Israel has hinted that it is about to launch a land offensive against the Hamas militia in Gaza, which on October 7 launched an attack on several Israeli kibbutzim and took 200 people hostage.

The Palestinian group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, launched a land, sea and air attack on Israel on October 7. The attack, the deadliest since the establishment of the Hebrew state in 1948, left more than 1,400 people dead, according to the army.

This Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed this again Israel is preparing an intervention in Gaza because “we want to eradicate Hamas and return the hostages home,” but it avoided giving details or specifying when this will happen. issues that have been the subject of much speculation in recent days, although some 300,000 reservists are prepared for the likely attack.

The Gaza Strip is in a critical humanitarian situation and its hospitals are facing a “total collapse”, Palestinian doctors have warned, denouncing the lack of fuel and medicines.

Israel also maintains a territory of 362 km2 and 2.3 million inhabitants under strict siege and has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers, ahead of a possible invasion to ‘destroy’ the Islamist movement Hamas.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden denied asking Israel to delay its ground invasion of Gaza until the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of an area devastated after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, October 25, 2023. More than 5,500 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). the Palestinian Health Authority, since Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. Photo: EFE

“What I indicated to him is that, if possible, we will get the people out safely,” Biden said at a press conference last Wednesday, after bluntly answering that he had asked “no” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. in intervention because that is an Israeli ‘decision’.

During his first press conference after the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, Biden denied information published this week by the American press stating, based on government sources, that the government had advised Israel to launch a ground invasion of Israel to postpone. Gaza hoping to buy time for hostage negotiations.

The Palestinian Islamist group is holding about 250 hostages has released four people in recent days, including two American women.

“Look, they’re clearly in danger. The question is, is there a way to get them out? If so, we have to get them out,” he said of the hostages.

The exact number of hostages with US passports held by Islamists in Gaza is unknown. Eleven Americans are currently missing and 30 dead following the attack, which left more than 1,400 dead on Israeli soil.

Condemns attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank

While reaffirming his full support for Israel and its “right” and “duty” to defend itself, Biden stated that he is “alarmed” by the fact that some “extremist settlers” are attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and demanded that they made them stop.

“They attack Palestinians in places where they have a right to be. They must stop, be held accountable and stop now,” the president said at the White House press conference, where he was joined by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is on an official visit to the United States.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Ministry of Health noted that a total of 105 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces and, in some cases, by settlers since October 7.

Questions the official death toll

Biden also referred to the civilian deaths caused by the war and stated that he does not trust the figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, which confirm that there are already 6,546 deaths in the Gaza Strip, of which 2,704 are children, and more than 17,400 injured.

A rescue worker checks an apartment in a building hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in the Israeli town of Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv, on October 25, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Photo: AFP

“What (the numbers) tell me is that I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are dying. “I’m sure they killed innocent people and that’s the price we have to pay for waging a war, but I think we have to be very careful,” he said.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has accused Israel of bombing areas that should theoretically be considered safe, including Al Ahli Hospital There were over half a thousand casualties. According to Hamas, more than 6,500 people were killed in the Israeli bombings.

In Israel, the government maintains the death toll at 1,400 since Hamas militants orchestrated a surprise attack on October 7. (JO)