Israel is preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, its prime minister said as he cast the coming war in biblical terms.
Benjamin Netanyahu used prime time TV address to say Israel’s “hellfire” had “already eliminated thousands of terrorists”, adding that every single member of Hamas was “doomed” and “this is only the beginning.”
“It is my responsibility to lead Israel to a crushing victory over our enemies,” he said.
Biblical Reference
“We will realize the prophecy of Isaiah 60:18 – ‘Violence shall no more be heard in your land’.”
The biblical verse refers to a holy city of Zion being created in Israel for an oppressed people.
“Light will defeat darkness,” he added.
Netanyahu, who struck defiant tone in his brief speech, has been facing questions over when Israel will invade.
“I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be.”
Netanyahu did for the first time acknowledge that he would have to personally give “answers” for security lapses exposed by the Oct 7 attacks when Hamas fighters killed 1,400 people.
There were also reports that Israel had agreed to delay ground offensive so that the United States could set up air defenses to protect troops from missiles and rockets in the region.
The Pentagon is rushing to deploy air-defense systems to protect Americans in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Israel has agreed to hold off until the defenses are in place, which could be as soon as this week.
Washington believes US military sites around the Middle East will be targeted by various militant groups once the Israeli push begins.
In his speech, Netanyahu urged Palestinian civilians living in Gaza to move south, away from the danger of the impending invasion, and called on Israeli citizens to carry arms.
He said Israel was doing everything it could to free more than 200 hostages seized by Hamas. But he did not allude to any further deal to free hostages through negotiations.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said his country had received “several pieces of information which allow us to have hope in the coming hours”.
Joe Biden said after Netanyahu’s speech that Israel had the right to respond to the Hamas attack but had to do “everything in its power” to protect civilians.
Biden said he did not believe the Palestinians were telling the truth about casualties suffered in the Israeli campaign.
Nevertheless, Biden said Israel should be “incredibly careful” to ensure it was targeting the right people.
US president also denied he had told Mr Netanyahu to hold off on any offensive, but said “if it’s possible to get these folks out safely, that’s what we should do.”
