Click to see full-size image. Via the Israeli Air Force.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on October 12 it has so far carried out strikes against some 3,600 targets in the Gaza Strip, using more than 6,000 munitions.
The most recent strikes on Gaza included the targeting of a senior operative of the Palestinian Hamas Movement and several other armed factions members, according to the IDF.
Hamas led a surprise large-scale attack that targeted several Israeli bases and settlements near Gaza on October 7 morning.
The IDF noted that it has been attacking all of Hamas’s assets across the Gaza Strip, including war rooms, military positions, weapon production centers, and sites linked to the group’s leadership. Video footage of several recent strikes were released.
The extensive Israeli strikes on Gaza led to heavy losses. In its latest updates, the Hamas-run health ministry said 1,417 Palestinians have been killed and another 6,268 have been wounded in attacks on the Strip. According to the ministry, 447 children and 248 women were among those killed.
The Hamas-led attack was a major blow to Israel. The death toll from the attack has reportedly suppressed 1,300 Israelis, including at least 247 service members of the IDF. More than 3,000 others were wounded.
In his first public statement since the war began, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi acknowledged on October 12 failures surrounding the deadly attack, but said now was not the time to investigate what went wrong.
“The IDF is responsible for the security of the country and its citizens, and on Saturday morning in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip, we did not handle it,” he said. “We will learn, we will investigate, but now is the time for war.”
Halevi said that the military has “a contract with the citizens of Israel, we have stood by it for many years with ups and downs. We are currently at a dramatic low point.” However, he vowed, “we will do everything to restore this contract, bring back security.”
The IDF is currently amassing large forces around Gaza. Israel will likely order a ground attack against Hamas and its allies in a few days or weeks. The battle will likely lead to more losses on both sides. However, it will be more than two million Palestinian civilians in the strip who will lose the most.
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