TEL AVIV, October 17. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is still undecided whether to launch a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht told a regular briefing.

"We are preparing for the next stages of war. We haven't said what they will be. Everybody's talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different," Reuters quoted the army spokesman as saying.

So far, more than 6,500 launches have been launched from Gaza, I24 news reported, citing Hecht. "We don’t expect Americans or British to shed blood in a war in Israel," he added.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place on the West Bank.