DEVELOPING: Israel's Ground Invasion Underway, Leaders Angered by UN Cease-Fire Resolution
JERUSALEM, Israel – The chief military spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Saturday that Israel is “advancing through the stages of the war” in the Gaza Strip, indicating that the long-anticipated ground operation is underway.
Israel cut off virtually all communications in Gaza Friday night, and Palestinians there reported gunfire exchanges between Israel and Hamas.
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“Infantry, armored, engineering and artillery forces [are] participating in the activity, accompanied by heavy fire [from the air],” Hagari stated.
Rocket fire continues to fall in the area of Israeli communities on the Gaza perimeter, although no civilian or military casualties have been reported.
The operation began on the Israeli Sabbath, and as it was beginning, the United Nations General Assembly in New York passed a non-binding Jordanian-sponsored resolution blaming Israel for the violence and calling for an immediate cease-fire. The vote was 120-14, and the body rejected a Canadian resolution that would have assigned blame to Hamas as well as Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen referred to the resolution as "despicable," and posted on X that "Israel intends to eliminate Hamas just as the world dealt with the Nazis and ISIS." Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said Friday would be "a day that would go down in infamy." Hamas spokesmen praised the General Assembly for the results.
Meanwhile, newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson made a solidarity phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday, posting on X, "The House of Representatives stands with Israel and I reaffirmed our strong support.”
In the military campaign, the I.D.F. announced the assassination Saturday of two prominent Hamas commanders, the head of the group's aerial operations and a naval strategist, in conjunction with the Israeli internal security agency, the Shin Bet.
The military also said it shot down a surface-to-air missile over northern Israel, which had targeted an Israeli drone. The I.D.F. has pounded Hezbollah terrorist positions in southern Lebanon, which had fired rockets at Israeli targets. The rockets landed in Syria, rather than Israel.
Sources in Arab nations and in the West are confirming a New York Times report that Hamas has been stockpiling food and fuel at the expense of Gaza residents, who are running out of both. The report claims that Hamas may have enough food to prolong the war for months.
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