Israel said it had largely secured the Gaza border and was evacuating nearby towns where the bodies of 1,500 Hamas militants had been recovered by Tuesday after days of gruelling battles outside the Palestinian enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israel’s military campaign following Saturday’s surprise onslaught was only the start of a sustained war to destroy Hamas and “change the Middle East”.
Fears of a regional conflagration have surged amid expectations of a looming Israeli ground incursion into Gaza, the crowded enclave from where Hamas launched its land, air and sea attack on the Jewish Sabbath.
The death toll in Israel has surged above 900 from the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history, while Gaza officials have reported 687 people killed so far.
Hamas gunmen massacred more than 100 people in the kibbutz of Beeri alone, said Moti Bukjin, a volunteer with the charity Zaka that recovers bodies in accordance with Jewish law.
The only logical conclusion of Israel’s actions in modern history is that their goal is to radicalize Palestinians, so the resulting terrorism can be used to justify the continued genocide and annexation until there is no Palestine.
We’re already seeing this along with language being used to dehumanize Palestinians.
I don’t know if that’s the aim. I tend to think in terms of will to power when it comes to demagogues.
It’s not like members of their government are on record admitting to such things, nor did Israel play a key role in the foundation of hamas.