Israel warns that the war against Hamas will be “long and difficult” | International

Twenty-four hours and 300 dead after the surprise attack by Hamas, Israel is trying this Sunday to regain control of all its territory. Its soldiers are still fighting in eight points with strongholds of the Palestinian militiamen who infiltrated on Saturday from the Strip - in a show of fragility only comparable to that of the Yom Kippur war - and were killing and kidnapping civilians, police and soldiers throughout the street, in their homes or in military bases. Although it has been heavily bombing Gaza since Saturday (there are already 313 Palestinians dead), it has set itself as its first objective to put order at home before launching into a “long and difficult” war, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defined it. after a meeting of the security cabinet. The Government announced this morning the cutoff of electricity, fuel and goods supplies to Gaza, and the Army has indicated that it intends to evacuate all towns near the Strip.

“We are embarking on a long and difficult war that the murderous attack by Hamas has forced us into. The first phase is to finish destroying the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory. At the same time, we have begun the offensive phase, which will continue without limitations or rest until the objectives are achieved,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli Army has gradually regained control of the towns near the Strip and freed hostages. In the city of Sderot, for example, the police station where 10 militiamen were barricaded was bombed. But there is still fighting in eight other towns. The Israeli Army claims to have killed hundreds of Palestinian militants and captured dozens of them, the Reuters agency has reported.

The armed wing of the Islamist organization Hamas, the Ezedín al Qasam Brigades, for its part, has assured that some of its militiamen continue to fight against Israeli forces in various points inside Israel.

The Israeli authorities have also extended the state of emergency that they had declared only in part of the country to the entire country. The most explosive perspective is what is known in Israel as a “multi-front war”, that is, the armed groups of the West Bank and, above all, Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia with a very large arsenal, preparation and number of men, come into action. higher than that of Palestinian groups. This Sunday, he claimed responsibility for the launch of mortar shells against Israel, which responded with bombings. No casualties have been reported.

After the incident, well below Hezbollah's capacity for action, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (FINL) - 10,000 troops, under the command of Spanish General Aroldo Lázaro - has reported that it is in contact with "all levels” with both Lebanese and Israeli authorities to avoid a “more serious escalation.”

The surprise attack by Hamas and the Israeli bombings have so far caused at least 300 deaths and 1,592 injuries in Israel, according to its Ministry of Health, and 313 deaths and nearly 2,000 injuries in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest balance sheet. of the Palestinian health authorities. In the West Bank, seven more fatalities were recorded at the hands of Israeli forces.

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