Israel announced that it is ready to invade Gaza on Tuesday. The ground personnel massing on the southern border are ready to invade Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.The announcement was made during a press briefing at Israels southern border by IDF Chief-of-Staff, Lt.-Gen Herzi Halevi who said, I want to be clear, we are ready to invade.He also added that the IDF has not decided on the exact timing of the Gaza ground invasion and was in the process of it in coordination with the countrys political echelons.Commenting on the delay in counter-invasion of Gaza after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel he said “At this stage, there are tactical and strategic factors which are allowing us more time to improve and to exploit every minute to be more ready,” according to media reports.“With every minute that passes for the other side, we are attacking the enemy more, killing its fighters, killing its commanders, destroying its infrastructure, and collecting more intelligence for the next moves,” he added.Halevi also said that the more time that Israel takes to attack Hamas, the longer the more stressed it will become and said “We are keeping him in tension”.Israel-Hamas conflictOn the other hand the Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday said it thwarted terrorists of the Hamas terror organization under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bey.Taking to X, The Israeli Air Force wrote “The Air Force under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet thwarted terrorists of the terrorist organization Hamas tonight, among them: – Abd al-Rahman, deputy commander of the Nuzirat Battalion, participated in the murderous raid on Kibbutz Bari. – Khalil Mahjaz, deputy commander of the Shati Battalion. – Khalil Tethari, deputy commander of the Sheik Radwan Battalion.”חיל-האוויר בהכוונה מודיענית של שבכ סיכל הלילה מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חמאס, ביניהם:- עבד אלרחמאן, סגן מפקד גדוד נוציראת, השתתף בפשיטה הרצחנית על קיבוץ בארי.- ח׳ליל מחג׳ז, סגן מפקד גדוד שאטי.- ח׳ליל תתרי, סגן מפקד גדוד שיח רדואן.https://t.co/EB1dOOSMOF pic.twitter.com/au5rxRyEJi— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 24, 2023Netanyahu aims to earse HamasSince Israel declared war against Hamas after the surprise rockets were launched on October 7, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to completely erase Hamas from the face of the earth.Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared on X that Israel has only one task at hand, which is to crush Hamas and it wont stop till the objective is accomplished.“With the fighters in the field, we have only one task — to crush Hamas, and we will not stop until we complete the task,” the Israeli PM stated.יש לנו רק משימה אחת - לרסק את החמאס, ולא נפסיק עד שנשלים את המשימה. pic.twitter.com/QyNNeo1hF3— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 24, 2023Israel had urged the residents of North Gaza to evacuate down south of the territory but such mass migration has been redeemed impossible by the UN. While many have evacuated over the last few days, some have decided to stay back. Those choosing to stay back were told to stay at home and lock their doors by the Israeli government, according to media reports.(With ANI inputs)
