Koushik Das posted: " On the 19th day of the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas Movement (on October 25, 2023), Tel Aviv hinted that it would begin a ground operation to capture the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issued a statement, " Boundless Ocean Of Politics
On the 19th day of the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas Movement (on October 25, 2023), Tel Aviv hinted that it would begin a ground operation to capture the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issued a statement, saying that at least 222 Israelis were still being held hostage by Hamas. Hence, the IDF would carry out a ground operation in Gaza to free all the hostages.
Earlier on October 24, Hamas released two Israeli hostages, stating that other hostages would be freed if Israel resumed the supply of basic necessities, including electricity, gas, water and medicines, to besieged Gaza. However, the Benjamin Netanyahu Administration in Tel Aviv rejected the proposal outright. Although Israel launched missiles and airstrikes on Gaza in the early hours of October 7 following rocket attacks on the Jewish nation by Hamas, Tel Aviv, in a rare first, announced that it would launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
Watch: How Palestinians reacted to the leaflets dropped by Israel urging them to evacuate Gaza.
In such a situation, the top leaderships of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) held a meeting with the Lebanese Shīʿite Islamist political outfit of Hezbollah on October 26 in order to find a way to counter the possible Israeli aggression in Gaza. The Western Asia-based Al Jazeera Media Network reported that Hezbollah Chief Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, Saleh al-Arouri, the Hamas leader and founding commander of its military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and top PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah attended the meeting. In a statement issued after the meeting, Hezbollah stressed that the three leaders discussed the route to an all-out victory over the Zionist Regime. It also mentioned that the three outfits would launch a joint operation to liberate the territories of Palestine and Lebanon occupied by Israel.
On October 25, Hamas confirmed that the number of Palestinian civilians killed by the IDF in Gaza crossed 6,000-mark on the 19th day of the war. According to the Palestinian outfit, 6,545 Gazans lost their lives, while about 17,500 people received grave injuries. In the West Bank, the Israeli attacks killed 103 people, and injured 1,823. On the other hand, Hamas attacks claimed the lives of 1,405 Israeli citizens and injured about 5,500 till October 25.
Watch: This is beyond a humanitarian catastrophe: UK MP
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that Hamas members are Freedom Fighters (or Mujahideens or Liberators), and not terrorists as claimed by Israel. Speaking to lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the President stated that Hamas is basically "a Patriotic Liberation Movement fighting to protect Palestinian lands and people". He told the AKP lawmakers: "Israel is killing children. We will not allow the killing of children." President Erdoğan aligned himself with the Sunni Muslim World more firmly, calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. "We had a project to go to Israel, but it was cancelled. We will not go," stressed the Turkish leader.
Although Turkey is a member of NATO, President Erdoğan (significantly) criticised the Western World for backing Israel. He made it clear that Ankara would provide the people of Palestine with all sorts of support to counter the Israeli aggression. It may be noted that Iran announced on October 7 that it would stand by Hamas during the crisis period. And now, Turkey has sent a similar message to Hamas.
Watch: The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation, says UN Chief.
The al-Monitor web portal reported on October 25 that President Erdoğan's "salvos mark a pronounced shift from his uncharacteristically subdued reaction in the early days of the conflict. His earlier caution was widely attributed to worries that anti-Israel rhetoric would harm Ankara's efforts to mend ties with Israel and regional heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia, just as Turkey is trying to salvage its battered economy by attracting foreign funds, including from Gulf countries".
Now, the Turkish President has made it clear "that Ankara's ties with Israel are on ice. This makes it even less likely that Ankara can mediate between Hamas and the Jewish State for the release of more than 200 hostages being held by the Palestinian outfit in Gaza". Erdoğan stated: "We were on a different path, but sadly we are here." He also claimed that Israel would not achieve "anything by raining bombs on (Palestinian) children", despite the backing of the US and its Western partners.
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