Israel asks troops to prepare for ground invasion of Gaza

Khan Younis, Oct 19: Israel’s defense minister told ground troops to be ready to enter the Gaza Strip, though he didn’t say when the invasion will start.
In a meeting with Israeli infantry soldiers on the Gaza border on Thursday, Yoav Gallant urged the forces to “get organised, be ready” for an order to move in.
“Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside,” he said. “I promise you.” Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops along the border following a bloody October 7 cross-border massacre by Hamas militants.
Israel has agreed to allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip while the Israeli military keeps up its airstrikes on the Palestinian territory.
More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that limited humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza from Egypt following a request from US President Joe Biden.
US President Joe Biden said he was “very blunt” with Israeli leaders that they would be “held accountable” if they didn’t allow humanitarian assistance to relieve the suffering of people in Gaza displaced by its raging conflict with Hamas.
He also said Israel has been “badly victimised,” but it would lose credibility worldwide if it did not explore the opportunity to relieve the suffering of these people who have nowhere to go.
Israel has told 1.1 million Palestinians living in the north of Gaza to move south ahead of the possible ground operations against the Hamas militants who launched an unprecedented attack on Israel and killed more than 1,400 people on October 7. (AP)