“Ready and determined” and Israeli troops are awaiting orders to invade Gaza in the next stage of the country’s war on Hamas, the the IDF has said.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel was learning from US experience in the Middle East but stressed “our war is on our borders”, adding that he was expecting weeks of fighting ahead.
The Palestinian death toll in Israeli airstrikes over the last fortnight has now reached 5,791, according to the the Palestinian health ministry. More than 1,400 Israelis were killed when Hamas launched its attack on 7 October.
Also on Tuesday, a freed Israeli hostage said she has been through “hell” in a “spiderweb” of underground tunnels during the 17 days she was held captive in Gaza by Hamas. But she also said her captors had been “very friendly” towards her and “looked after our needs”.
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was seen shaking hands with a masked gunman as she was freed into the care of the Red Cross on Monday night. As she left captivity, Mrs Lifshitz said “shalom”, which means “peace”.