On Saturday 7 October, Israel was attacked by Hamas in an attack that appeared to come as a surprise to the Israeli army (IDF) and the country’s security forces. Israel has subjected the Gaza Strip to several intensive bombings following the Hamas attack that killed over 1,400 people and injured at least 3,621 in Israel. Israel’s air operation against Gaza is said to have cost 2,700 human lives, and injured 10,800 so far. In addition, around 1,000 people have been reported missing. It is feared that many may lie under the ruins after the airstrikes, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says. Most of the victims are civilians. Palestinians search for survivors in the ruins of a building that collapsed after an Israeli attack in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP In an interview with news, IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus is asked how the Hamas attack could come so unexpectedly on Israel. – It is a good question that will be answered at the end of the war. We will answer to the Israeli people, not the world. Israelis demand an answer to this mistake and we will make amends for them. Cannot guarantee civilian lives An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is expected shortly. On Friday, Israel asked all 1.1 million Palestinians living north of the Wadi River to evacuate south of the river within 24 hours. Concricus is clear about what the IDF now wants. – The goal is to destroy Hamas and all their military capabilities, so that when this war ends they will never have the opportunity to kill or threaten Israeli civilians ever again. – What goals are you pursuing in Gaza? – We are going after everyone in Hamas. From Yahya Sinwar, the leader and the face of evil to the outside, and right down to the youngest military commanders. Anyone involved in the planning or execution of the attack is our target, and they are largely walking corpses. Yahya Sinwar is the leader of Hamas in Gaza. Photo: AP – Is it practically possible to destroy Hamas without taking thousands of civilian lives? – Yes I believe. We will try our best not to kill civilians, but ultimately it depends on how Hamas chooses to fight back. – Do you have plans to reoccupy Gaza if Hamas is wiped out? – I am not aware of any such plans and I do not think it is something Israel wants. Palestinians in Gaza City were given 24 hours on Friday morning to evacuate their homes and travel south on the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP Explains bombing of civilian infrastructure According to the UN, the IDF has bombed more than 60,000 housing units, 90 teaching premises, 19 health centers and water and sanitation facilities in Palestinian areas. Conricus believes it is due to Hamas’s strategy. – All those places are abused by Hamas. They launch their rockets close to schools and hospitals. In addition, they have tunnels under several hospitals in Gaza and generally have no respect for anything sacred. – The EU classified Russia’s attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as terrorism. Based on that definition: Are you committing terrorism in the Gaza Strip now? – No not at all. We are fighting an army of terrorists. Israel has asked all the hospitals in Gaza to evacuate. Where will all the wounded receive treatment? – I don’t have the solution to that. It is up to Hamas to resolve it. – Could it be that you bomb the hospitals if they are not evacuated? – I don’t think we will shoot targeted at the hospitals. Something very big has to happen for us to actively do it. Nevertheless, it can of course happen that they meet without our intention. Both young and old have had to be treated in hospital after the bombings in Gaza. These have now been told to evacuate. Photo: AFP Against the UN’s statement According to Human Rights Watch, Israel uses white phosphorus when it bombs densely populated areas. It is prohibited by international law. – The pictures show that it is very close to the coast and the beach that this is mainly used. Some of these bombs contain a small amount of white phosphorus, but that is only to create smoke, says Concricus. Israel has also been criticized for denying people in Gaza medicine, food, fuel, electricity and water. – We categorically stop any kind of goods entering Gaza because the area is controlled by Hamas, and we are at war with Hamas. – The UN says this is the definition of collective punishment, and it affects over two million people. What do you say to that? – I think it is an absurd and unfair statement. It is the kind of statement that is only directed at Israel when we are defending ourselves.
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– The goal is to destroy Hamas – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
