Israel readies for Gaza mission as death toll mounts

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As Israel discovered new evidence of mass killings by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel mobilized more than 300,000 reservists to prepare for a large-scale attack on Gaza.

The death toll in Israel had reached 1,200, with 2,700 injured, IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) early Wednesday.

He warned that the number would continue to rise as authorities found more civilians killed in an unprecedented incursion by Hamas militants who seized southern Israeli towns on Saturday.

On Tuesday, a large number of bodies were discovered in Kfar Aza but remained uncounted. Kibbutz Kfar Azha is located close to the border with the Gaza Strip and is one of the last places controlled by Israel. The Israeli military described the site as a “massacre”.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli bombing has killed 900 people and injured 4,500 over the past four days. Israel said it hit more than 2,300 “Hamas targets” in the blockaded area of ​​2.3 million people, while firing more than 4,500 rockets from Gaza.

The Israeli military said the first cargo plane carrying US “advanced weapons” “designed to facilitate major military operations” landed at Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel on Tuesday evening. The United States is sending munitions and interceptors to supplement Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, which it relies on to defend against rocket attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that Hamas’s atrocities exceed those of the Islamic State and that Israel is at the beginning of “a powerful and long-lasting movement”. “The level of evil is only going to get worse,” Netanyahu said, according to the prime minister’s office.

Biden addressed the attacks in a speech at the White House on Tuesday, saying Israel had the “right” and “duty” to respond. He confirmed that Americans were among the dozens of hostages held by Hamas and said at least 14 Americans had been killed.

Biden described Hamas’ attacks as “pure evil” that brought back horrific memories of “genocide and anti-Semitism” and vowed that the United States would “stand with Israel.”

Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers and large amounts of military equipment have gathered on the Gaza border. Israel withdrew its troops from the area in 2005, and Hamas has controlled the area since 2007.

The United Nations estimates that nearly 300,000 Palestinians are displaced within Gaza, with many seeking refuge in UN-run schools and refugee camps to escape Israeli bombing.

Netanyahu suggested civilians “leave” the 40-kilometer strip, sparking concern in neighboring Egypt. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the United States was discussing the safe passage of civilians with its regional allies, but did not provide details.

“We have sent infantry, armor, artillery and many other reservists,” IDF spokesman Conricus said. Their mission “is to ensure that Hamas does not have anyone at the end of this war that can threaten or kill Israeli civilian military capabilities.”