There will be a ground invasion of Gaza . In a dramatic speech to the nation, Benjamin Netanyahu announced to his country and the world in the evening that the only way to eliminate Hamas and free the hostages is to enter the Palestinian enclave.

For the first time he also mentioned his responsibility for the attacks of October 7: «It was a black day. We will clarify everything that happened. Everyone - he admitted - will have to give explanations for that attack, starting with me. But only after the war. My task now is to lead the country to victory."

Only the Israeli war cabinet will decide the start of ground operations , Netanyahu assured on TV after hypotheses and speculation have multiplied in recent days on the reasons for the postponement of the invasion which seemed imminent immediately after the Hamas attacks.

The latest was today's report from the Wall Street Journal, according to which Israel would have accepted the postponement to allow the US to deploy a dozen air defense systems to protect American troops in the region from missiles and rockets, given the repeated Iranian threats and its Lebanese Hezbollah allies.

«We are preparing to enter Gaza, I won't say how and when. There are considerations that are not known to the general public," Netanyahu explained. «There are two objectives: eliminate Hamas and free the hostages. All those who participated in the October 7 attack will die."

For French President Emmanuel Macron from Cairo, where he saw his counterpart Abdel-Fattah al Sisi, a "massive" land operation would be "a mistake". A move which, according to the French leader, "would endanger the lives of civilian populations" without "protecting Israel over time".

Al Sisi was no exception and he too made an appeal to "avoid the invasion of Gaza" . Biden instead defended Israel's "right and duty" to defend itself, defining the Jewish state's anger as "understandable", but once again urged its ally to act "in accordance with the laws of war". He then issued a warning to Israeli settlers to stop attacking Palestinians in the West Bank. And a new warning to Tehran : «If Iran continues to attack American troops in the Middle East, the United States will react. This - he added - is my warning to the Ayatollah".

(Unioneonline/D)

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