In a televised speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza, but he declined to provide any details on the timing of the assault, or further information about the operation.
With tens of thousands of Israeli troops massed at the Gaza border, Netanyahu said Israel is preparing the ground offensive.
Netanyahu also declared that the decision on when forces would go into the blockaded Palestinian enclave would be taken by the government’s special war cabinet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that he would have to give “answers” for security lapses exposed in the deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas fighters.
“This fault will be examined and everyone will have to give answers, including me. But all this will happen later,” the right-wing leader said in a televised address as the Israeli military prepares for a widely expected invasion of the Gaza Strip.
“We will examine everything in detail and we will get to the bottom of it,” said Netanyahu, who has faced a barrage of opposition and media criticism after Gaza militants breached Israeli border defenses.
Netanyahu avoided taking direct responsibility for the October 7 Hamas attack, as several security chiefs have done, he says he will be probed and that the investigation must only take place after the war.
Netanyahu seemed to deflect from his responsibilities and shifted the focus to leading the state of Israel and the people to a “crushing victory”, adding that “as Prime Minister, I am responsible for securing the future of the country.”
The Israeli PM also encouraged citizens of the Hebrew state, to bear arms and matters into their hands.
Gaza’s government says that Israeli air and artillery bombing since October 7 have left more than 6,500 dead, including some 2,700 children.
Israel has an army of about 165,000 and has called up 360,000 reservists, some on the Gaza border and others moved to the border with Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement has been staging daily artillery attacks.
