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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel to launch Gaza ground operation after receiving missile defense systems from US

It is noted that before the operation begins, Israeli leaders want to cut off as much of the weapons smuggling into Gaza as possible to prevent a guerrilla war by Hamas militants against Israeli troops

TEL AVIV, October 27. /TASS/. The Israeli leadership plans to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip after receiving a sufficient number of missile defense systems from the US, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing its own sources.

According to the newspaper, Israel's military and political leadership fears retaliation from the Shiite movement Hezbollah and Iran in planning a ground operation in Gaza. The newspaper pointed out that one of the practical results of this is the expectation of more missile defense systems to be delivered by the US to deter Hezbollah from intervening if the Israel Defense Forces launch an operation in Gaza.

The newspaper’s other sources note that before the operation begins, Israeli leaders want to cut off as much of the weapons smuggling into Gaza as possible to prevent a guerrilla war by Hamas militants against Israeli troops.

According to the newspaper, senior Israeli generals said on condition of anonymity that the army is willing to take risks during the operation to try to rescue as many hostages as possible, but the military leadership is aware of the difficulty of the task.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on 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 in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank of the Jordan River as well.

According to the latest official data from the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 18,500 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,400 people have lost their lives and roughly 5,200 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.

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United States Israel Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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