Israel could launch a massive ground offensive within the next 48 hours
New Delhi:
Hamas’ terror attack on Israel is also an attack on America, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. Mr Bolton said Israel could launch its main ground offensive against Hamas within the next 48 hours.
“If you fall victim to a terrorist attack, as happened to India, a nation has a legitimate right to self-defense, but also to eliminate the threat of future attacks from the same source. Israel has put up with this long enough,” Mr Bolton said.
Israeli ground forces have carried out raids on Gaza over the past 24 hours, the army said today, ahead of an expected ground offensive on the densely populated Gaza Strip. The attacks came amid relentless Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, with the Hamas group firing back with rockets.
“The attack on Israel is also an attack on America. About fifteen to twenty Americans are being held hostage,” Bolton said, adding that the Hamas terror attack is not just a problem for Israel, but for the entire world. His comments come hours after US President Joe Biden vowed to do “everything in our power” to free Americans. President Biden also spoke to families of fourteen Americans still missing after the Hamas attack. At least 27 Americans are dead.
Bolton claimed that Iran had a hand in Hamas’ terror attack on Saturday. “There is sufficient circumstantial evidence for Iran’s involvement,” he told NDTV.
He expressed concern that Israeli intelligence failures prevented Hamas’ massive attack. “No one should underestimate the magnitude of this intelligence failure. The US and Israel must conduct forensic investigations to determine the cause of the failure,” Bolton said.
Israel today warned the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to flee ahead of the expected ground offensive, a move condemned by the United Nations.
More than 1,300 Israelis were killed in the terror attack, and 1,800 people in the Gaza Strip were killed in Israel’s retaliation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today asked Israel to limit the number of Palestinian civilian deaths as he worked to set up safe areas in the Gaza Strip, in an effort to maintain calm in the Arab world. After a solidarity visit to Tel Aviv, Mr. Blinken again defended Israel’s right to respond during a six-nation tour of the Arab world, but also stepped up the tone for the protection of innocent Palestinians.
“We urged Israelis to take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians,” Blinken said at a news conference in Qatar. “We recognize that many Palestinian families in Gaza are suffering through no fault of their own and that Palestinian civilians have lost their lives,” he said.
But he said Israel was within its rights after Hamas’ “unconscionable” attacks. “What Israel is doing is not retaliation. What Israel is doing is defending the lives of its people,” he said. “Any country confronted with what Israel has suffered would probably do the same.”
With input from AFP
