TEL AVIV, October 16. /TASS/. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that mistakes had been made before the Hamas attack on the country and promised an investigation.
"There are many questions about the disaster that befell us. We will investigate all the circumstances. We have already started to derive lessons," he stated at the opening of the winter session of parliament.
"Right now, we are focused on one task - to pool our efforts and to move forward to victory. For this we need determination, because victory will take time to win," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Palestinian militants from the Hamas movement attacked Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has announced a total blockade of Gaza and carried out strikes on targets inside Lebanon and Syria. Hostilities have also broken out on the West Bank.
More than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed in clashes and strikes, while over 10,900 have suffered wounds since the renewed outbreak of violence began. In Israel, more than 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,000 have been wounded.