An Israeli minister has told troops massing at the border that they will soon see Gaza ‘from the inside’ sparking fears a ground invasion is imminent.
Yoav Gallant, who is the country’s defence minister, told Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers to ‘get organised, be ready’ to move into the Palestinian territory as he vowed there would be ‘no forgiveness’ for Hamas, only it’s ‘total annihilation’.
‘World biggest cemetery’
Another cabinet minister has claimed that the military has been given the ‘green light’ to invade the territory whenever it is ready, warning that the tunnels dug by Hamas would become the ‘world’s biggest cemetery’.
The total annihilation
Thousands of Israeli troops have gathered at the border with Gaza since pushing back Hamas terrorists that brutally massacred hundreds of people in a cross-border attack on October 7.
Since then the Jewish state has pummelled Gaza with airstrikes, killing thousands of people, and has warned people living in the north of the territory to leave for their own safety.
Tensions have been ramped up further in recent days after a blast at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people, with Israel and Palestinian terror groups blaming each other for the devastation.
The violence has shown no signs of abating though, with Israel continuing to launch air strikes across Gaza, including in the south where civilians were told to take refuge.
Ground invasion plan in the book
And the fiery rhetoric has continued, with Defence Minister Gallant warning a ground invasion could happen at any time in a meeting with Israeli infantry on Thursday.
He told them: ‘Whoever sees Gaza from afar will soon see it from the inside. The command will come, I promise you.
‘There is no forgiveness for this thing. Only total annihilation of Hamas organisation – terror infrastructures, everything that has to do with terrorists and whoever sent them. It will take a week, it will take a month, it will take two months, until we eliminate them.
‘You are not alone in battle. We trust you and count on you. Carry on training while there is time.’
It came the same day that the country’s Economy Minister, Nir Barakat, told ABC News the military had the ‘green light’ to invade.
