Israel’s ground forces have entered the Gaza Strip for “the second stage of the war” against Hamas, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday.
Israel’s war cabinet made the decision to expand ground operations in Gaza, which fell short of an explicit full-scale invasion.
“It will be long and difficult,” Netanyahu said at a press conference in Tel Aviv, preparing the nation for the long fight ahead. “We are ready. . . . This is our second independence war. We’re going to save our country.”
The incursion will likely target Hamas’s terror tunnels and other infrastructure. Since Hamas perpetrated its brutal massacre in Israel earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces have rained air strikes on Gaza to eliminate enemy leaders and locations. Air strikes continued into Saturday.
“This is the second stage of the war, whose objectives are clear: to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and bring the hostages home,” Netanyahu said.
The apparent intelligence failures that allowed Hamas to infiltrate Israel will need to be investigated, Netanyahu said. Hamas entered through air, land, and sea on October 7. In its rampage, Hamas killed over 1,400 Israelis and wounded many others.
“Everyone will have to answer questions, including me,” he said.
Netanyahu said Israel is committed to securing the return of its hostages. Israel says Hamas is holding more than 200. Certain details of Israel’s military plans are confidential and can’t be disclosed, Netanyahu said. In the last couple of weeks, Hamas has released Israeli hostages in a slow trickle, likely in an effort to buy more leverage to deter Israel’s escalation. Four people, including two American women who were visiting family in southern Israel when Hamas attacked, have been freed so far.
On Saturday, Netanyahu met with representatives of the families of Israelis held captive in Gaza. They pled with the prime minister to facilitate a prisoner swap with Hamas. They asked for an arrangement in which Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for security offenses would be freed in exchange for the kidnapped Israelis, according to the Times of Israel.