The Israeli Defense Force is reportedly preparing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip as Hamas and military authorities continue to trade blows in what is being described as the worst flare-up in tensions in years.
Plans for the offensive are expected to hit the desk of IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi for approval on Thursday, according to the Jerusalem Post. The proposal will also reach the eyes of top brass in the country’s government.
The potential move coincides with a total of 100 rockets that were launched by Hamas at Tel Aviv and Eilat, injuring four people. The bombardments also included a pair of “suicide drones.”
DOZENS OF GOP SENATORS URGE BIDEN TO HALT IRAN ‘SANCTIONS RELIEF’ TALKS AMID ISRAEL-HAMAS FIGHTING
A total of 90 people have been killed since tensions came to a boil earlier this week, including 83 Palestinians, 17 of which were children. The IDF has been able to eliminate several high-profile military leaders of Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, as the entities exchanged over 1,000 missiles in the past few days. Seven people were killed in Israel, including a 6-year-old child.
Hamas began firing rockets toward Israel on Monday in a tense situation that boiled over with a looming Israeli Supreme Court decision on whether to uphold the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah area in East Jerusalem.
Some experts have posited that the violence may escalate into all-out war.
“We’re escalating toward a full-scale war,” Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a tweet. “Stop the fire immediately.”
IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman said the military’s tactics on wearing down its terrorist opponent.
“[Hamas] is losing everything,” he said told reporters on Thursday.
“Tonight, we started destroying government targets in the Gaza Strip, such as central banks and internal security buildings. Hamas is beginning to discover cracks, and there is pressure in the organization, even among the Gaza public who is losing its patience and sees these ruins on the eve of the holiday [of Eid al-Fitr],” he continued.
An Egyptian delegation in Tel Aviv has since tried to broker a ceasefire agreement. The delegation met with Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip on Thursday before going to Tel Aviv to talk with Israeli officials, according to the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to halt “sanctions relief” talks with Iran as the regime is a “longtime financial and material supporter of Hamas,” which was designated a terrorist organization in 1997.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Over the past couple days, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, who are funded by Iran, have launched a series of rocket attacks into Israel,” over 40 GOP senators wrote in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. “They are targeting Israeli civilians and cities, including Israel’s capital Jerusalem. This is troubling as members of your administration are currently in Vienna negotiating with Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
“In light of these recent attacks by Hamas against Israel, the United States should take all steps necessary to hold Tehran accountable and under no circumstances, provide sanctions relief to Iran,” they continued.
