Israeli military says priority is ‘obliteration’ of Hamas, not hostages

The Israeli army has called up 300,000 reservists for its 'Swords of Iron' campaign and massed tanks and heavy armour near Gaza and Lebanon

An Israeli reservist sits with fellow troops near the border with the Gaza Strip, where dozens of civilians were killed in a raid by Hamas militants. Getty Images

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Israel's priority is the complete obliteration of Hamas’s military capabilities in the Gaza Strip and it holds the militant group responsible for the lives of Palestinians inside the territory, as well as those Israelis it took hostage at the weekend, a military spokesman told The National.

“We are in a state of war. The priority is to protect the southern Israeli towns first, then direct strikes at Hamas and implement our offensive military plan," Lt Col Avichay Adraee said in an interview on Tuesday.

"This is the priority and this applies to the ground. A special unit from our National Security Directorate is handling the issue of Israeli hostages."

Israeli soldiers on patrol near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona, close to the border with Lebanon, on Tuesday. AFP

Israeli warplanes bombarded the Gaza Strip neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood for a fourth straight day on Tuesday, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling for safety in the tiny, sealed-off territory.

Israel's government said it would "obliterate" Hamas, after the Gaza-based militant group sent hundreds of fighters into Israeli towns and communities near the border early on Saturday, while firing thousands of rockets into Israeli territory. More than 1,000 people are reported to have been killed, and more than 100 taken hostage into Gaza.

The army confirmed on Tuesday that it had targeted and killed senior Hamas officials in an overnight strike, including Jawad Abu Shmalah who had "managed the funding of terrorism inside and outside the Gaza Strip" and "led a number of operations targeting Israeli civilians".

The death toll from the Israeli strikes on Gaza rose to 765 on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said.

The Israeli army has called up 300,000 reservists for its "Swords of Iron" campaign and massed tanks and other heavy armour near Gaza and on the northern border with Lebanon, where several exchanges of fire have taken place since Saturday.

Lt Col Adraee, who heads the Israeli military's Arab media division, said the army had captured dozens of Hamas fighters as it regained control of Israeli towns near Gaza by Sunday evening.

“There are hundreds who were killed, but there are dozens who were also captured by our soldiers. They are now in interrogation and investigation centres, meaning they have been arrested. This is what happens, of course,” he said.

As he spoke to The National, there were reports of another attack from southern Lebanon, where the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah holds sway.

“Minutes ago, there was mortar and rocket shelling on some civilian towns in the northern region adjacent to the Lebanese border," Lt Col Adraee said. "The official policy from Israel is to respond directly to every attack and respond with extreme force if attacked by Iranian-linked forces from Lebanon.”

He said residents of southern Israel were being given weapons after Defence Minister Yoav Gallant instructed the military to arm civilians instead of conducting full evacuation efforts.

“I mean, everyone who does not have a licence to carry weapons can carry a weapon because we are officially in a state of war. We are confident that we have retaken control of all civilian areas, but we do not rule out that there still may be hidden cells inside Israel,” he said.

Aid organisations have pleaded for the creation of humanitarian corridors to get aid into Gaza after Mr Gallant declared a complete siege of the territory, warning that hospitals overwhelmed by the more than 3,000 injured people were running out of supplies. Israel has stopped entry of food, fuel and medicine into Gaza, and the sole remaining access point from Egypt shut down on Tuesday after air strikes hit near the border crossing.

“There is a comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, which means no electricity, water, and all connections from Israel have been cut off. All crossings have been indefinitely closed and there is a complete siege on the Gaza Strip,” Lt Col Adraee confirmed, adding that the Israeli army’s job right now was military, not political.

Talks of ceasefires and humanitarian corridors "are political and not military", he said.

"Our priority right now is to ensure all of Hamas’s military capabilities are obliterated for the foreseeable future. Hamas holds responsibility for this war.”