Israeli tanks and troops conducted what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a "targeted raid" of the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Thursday. The IDF — whose troops returned to Israel after the attack — said it struck a number of Hamas positions in the incursion, adding that the operation was part of preparing the border area for the "next stages of the war."
The IDF also said that it conducted an additional 250 air strikes in the last 24 hours — all of them, it alleged, against Hamas targets. In one of the strikes, the IDF claimed that it had struck a Hamas rocket launcher located near a mosque and kindergarten, claiming this was "further proof that Hamas deliberately uses civilian sites for terror purposes."
Everyone in Israel — including Netanyahu — will have to answer for the failures that led to the Hamas attacks in Israel. But that is for after the war. Now, Israel must fight for its existence. Now is the time for the country to join in unison to inflict a crushing defeat on Hamas that wipes the terror group out of existence. The black day of Oct. 7 must never be repeated again.
Amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the United Nations has so far failed to protect Palestinians in the region. America's resolution called for a "humanitarian pause," but this falls way short of the immediate and lasting ceasefire necessary. Thousands of Palestinians will be killed if the UN doesn't soon resolve its inability to agree.