(RepublicanNews.org) – Amidst rising numbers of dead on both sides of the conflict, the Israeli Defense Forces and their internal Shin Bet counterparts continue to scour the southern portion of Israel for leftover Hamas encampments following their surprise attack on October 7th. As of October 10th, some Israeli settlements have still not been fully reclaimed, according to reports.
While the IDF continues to mass at least 150,000 troops on the border with Gaza in preparation for what appears to be an invasion, the Israeli Air Force continues to pound the narrow strip of Palestinian land from the air. Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza, has indicated that they will begin executing hostages if the Israelis target what they deem to be certain important civilian buildings.
The terrorist group has already beheaded at least one IDF soldier and is threatening to upload any civilian executions to the internet. It is unclear at this point if their threat has led to a brief change in Israeli Air Force policy or not. Even if the bombings stop, IDF ground forces are still gathering outside Gaza and in the north as a precautionary measure to counter any Hezbollah or Hamas operations.
The latest developments follow what even papers in Israel are calling the nation’s worst intelligence failure in its history. Many, including scores of Israelis, have wondered aloud if the Netayahu government allowed the attacks from Hamas to take place as part of an overall effort to unite the country behind a central authority.
In the months preceding the attack, top officials in the Knesset were warning that Netanyahu’s judicial reforms were pushing the country to the brink of civil war. According to a current piece from the Times of Israel, Egyptian officials claim to have warned Netanyahu about Hamas movements prior to their invasion of Southern Israel. They said their warnings went unheeded.
The latest numbers of dead sit at 900 Israelis and almost 800 Palestinians.
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