An IDF Spokesperson @jconricus shares an important statement on ‘Swords of Iron’. LIVE from Tel Aviv: https://t.co/5lYJlleXK6

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 8, 2023

It is by far the worst day in Israeli history. Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one single thing, let alone enemy activity, on one day. If you’re American and want to compare this to something in American history, this could be a 9/11 and a Pearl Harbor wrapped into one. We’re a small country with about 8-9 million Jews living here, and out of that population, we’ve had 700 killed and 2,100 wounded.

Unfortunately, and this is probably the most dominant factor that will shape the activities for the future, there is a very large amount of Israeli civilians and soldiers held inside Gaza. And that number, I think in the coming days, will be revealed officially, but at this time I can only say that we are talking about many, many Israelis. Israelis who were forcefully taken from Israel, women, children, infants, elderly, and even disabled people. I’ve seen stories of a grandma Holocaust survivor who was taken across the border from Israel to Gaza by Hamas militants with two toddlers behind her in a special vehicle. That is the extent of the brutality, cynicism, and the monsters that we are facing.

We have amassed around 100,000 reserve troops who are currently in Southern Israel preparing to execute the task that the Israeli government has designated the IDF to do. Our job is to make sure that at the end of this war, Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israeli civilians with. And in addition to that, we are also to make sure that Hamas will not be able to govern the Gaza Strip.

[More of the transcript at Power Line and at RCP. I certainly hope that the war will be quick and with as few civilian casualties as possible, but that is up to tha Gazans now. If they want to prevent the utter destruction of Gaza, then they should seize Hamas’ leadership, turn them over to Israel, renounce terrorism, and learn to live in cooperation with their neighbors. If not … oh well. — Ed]