Israeli troops have been preparing for a counteroffensive inside Gaza for almost two weeks and on Thursday they were told that the “battle will be extensive.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with Israeli troops who are stationed near to Gaza in the town of Mavkiim which comes as the Israeli military all-out ground assault in Gaza looms.
Gallant told troops, “The battle will be an extensive one, a difficult one, and we will be precise, sharp, and deadly.
“But there will be a price for that, and we will have a price to pay, but we will go on until we complete this operation to the fullest.”
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Iran’s most senior military commander warned that the ongoing Israeli strikes against Gaza may well lead to “other actors” joining the war.
Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said that the situation in the Middle East is now “more complicated.”
Bagheri told Russia’s Defence Minister over the phone, “The continuation of the crimes of the Zionist regime, along with direct support and aid from certain countries, has made the situation more complicated and can draw other actors into this conflict.”
He has called for an immediate stop to Israels “crimes” and Bagheri told Qatar’s Defence Minister in another call that there is “a possibility of any reaction from the resistance groups.”
On Wednesday the United Nations Middle East peace envoy warned the Security Council the risk of expansion of the conflict is “very real.”
The Mideast envoy warned that conflict between Israel, Hamas Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and possibly other actors is “extremely dangerous.”
Tor Wennesland warned that the Middle East risks falling into a “dangerous abyss” as tens of thousands have protested over the hospital attack which left at least 500 Palestinians dead.
He added, “I fear that we are at the brink of a deep and dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not of the Middle East as a whole.”
