Israel prepares a massive ground assault on Gaza, Netanyahu promises to “demolish” Hamas

According to the White House, US President Joe Biden spoke with Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, regarding the dire need for humanitarian relief in Gaza.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “demolish Hamas” as 300,000 Israeli soldiers gathered on the Gaza Strip’s border in preparation for an anticipated military invasion to track down and eliminate Hamas fighters.

Benny Gantz, an opposition politician, was part of the emergency war Cabinet that the Israeli prime minister assembled for the first time. Netanyahu said that this was done to demonstrate national unity.

Netanyahu stated that all Israeli authorities were “working around the clock, with a united front” as they were meeting at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The ministers observed a moment of silence in honour of the 1,300 Israelis killed in the shocking attack by Hamas on October 7. In response, Israel attacked Gaza with dozens of missiles and hundreds of airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of about 1,900 Palestinians.

Hamas believed that we would be destroyed, according to Netanyahu. “We are the ones who will destroy Hamas.” The political unity display, according to him, “sends a clear message to the nation, the enemy, and the world.”

Israeli leaders gathered as the U.S. State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited the Jewish state last week, would travel there Monday for additional talks. The senior American diplomat has recently visited seven Middle Eastern nations, including Egypt on Sunday, in an effort to coordinate with Arab allies to stop the Israel-Hamas conflict from getting out of hand.

Israeli officials continued to demand on Sunday that residents of Gaza’s northern half move to its southern half, resulting in a chaotic caravan of cars and parents carrying their children as they walk with their possessions to an uncertain future.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces, stated, “We want people to go south.”

Even as Israeli forces gathered on the border in preparation for a potential ground assault and cut off food, water, power, and medical supplies into Gaza, Hamas urged civilians to remain put.

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for the White House, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Israel had convinced him that water supplies had been restored to Gaza’s southern half.

READ ALSO: Israel conducts its initial ground assaults against Gaza

In the conflict, 29 Americans have perished, and 15 more are still missing.

Finding and rescuing the Americans who the US suspects are being held prisoner by Hamas is President Joe Biden’s “highest priority,” according to Sullivan.

However, Sullivan acknowledged that the United States is unaware of “where or who they are.” He suggested that some of the Americans who are missing may already have died on ABC’s “This Week” programme.

Without providing any additional information, Sullivan stated that American efforts “are under way with third countries” to achieve the release of the American hostages.

Sullivan claimed that while Hamas has obstructed such attempts at the border barrier at Rafah, it has asked that Egypt permit Americans to flee Gaza into Egypt.

According to two Egyptian officials, who also highlighted security concerns relating to a lack of screening of individuals, Egypt has informed the United States that it has received too many requests for evacuation to accommodate American citizens and that it cannot provide passage to one country over others.

As Palestinians rush to leave northern Gaza and go south ahead of the anticipated Israeli military attack, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is escalating.

The “unwavering” U.S. support for Israel was reaffirmed by Biden in a Saturday phone chat to Netanyahu, who was also forewarned against anyone “seeking to expand the conflict,” according to a statement from the White House. Netanyahu was also given an update by Biden on American military assistance to Israel.

American Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin announced in a statement that the USS Eisenhower, a second carrier strike group, was being sent to the eastern Mediterranean later on Saturday. It would join the recently arrived USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group.

“The increases in U.S. force posture signal the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” Austin stated in a statement.

Also on Saturday, Russia requested that the U.N. Security Council vote on a draught resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict on Monday. The resolution calls for a humanitarian cease-fire and denounces all acts of terrorism as well as violence against civilians.

Margaret Besheer, a U.N. correspondent, contributed to this article. Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and The Associated Press all contributed information to this article.