JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel is pushing ahead with a major offensive to crush Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, promising a retaliation that will reverberate “for generations.”
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said they have finally secured the border with Gaza and found the bodies of 1,500 Hamas terrorists four days after they invaded southern Israel and killed or kidnapped more than 1,000 Israelis.
“In the last day, not a single terrorist entered via the fence,” said the IDF’s top spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
Speaking in an address to the nation Monday night, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel is in “a war to ensure our existence, a war that we will win.”
“We have always known what Hamas is. Now the whole world knows. Hamas is ISIS,” Netanyahu said. “We will defeat [Hamas] precisely as the enlightened world defeated ISIS.”
The IDF has called up a record 360,000 reservists to prepare for what many expect is a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
In the meantime, Israeli warplanes continue to bombard Hamas targets inside Gaza while terrorists fire rockets across southern Israel. The IDF has urged citizens of Gaza to evacuate as it carries out strikes across the strip. Gaza authorities say at least 687 Palestinians have died.
There are more than 160 hostages in Hamas’ hands, and Hamas has warned they will kill one hostage on live TV every time Israel attacks “without prior warning.”
Meanwhile, on Israel’s northern border, there have been several skirmishes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, leading many to believe a second front could be a real possibility.
“We are ready, in high readiness. We are ready from the air and from land at the border,” Hagari said in a statement Tuesday.
The Home Front Command has encouraged all Israelis to store up food and water for three days.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN
