A week into the war, after the Hamas attacks, a large-scale Israeli counteroffensive was launched.

Benyamin Netanyahu yesterday visited the border kibbutzim, victims of the massacre, inviting the soldiers to be ready "for what is about to happen" . The preparations in the final phase, said the military spokesman, concern "a significant ground operation" in Gaza which will be expanded with a "wide range of operational plans" which include attacks from the air, sea and land.

One of those responsible for the massacre that occurred last week in Kibbutz Nirim was killed last night in the southern Gaza Strip. This was announced by the Israeli army, according to which he is Billal al-Kedra, commander of the elite Hamas unit known as "Nukhba" in the Khan Yunes area, in the south of the Strip. In this attack, conducted by fighter planes, the spokesperson specified, "other Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed".

Iran has sent a message to Israel through the UN envoy to the Middle East explaining that it does not want a further escalation in the war between Hamas and Israel, but that it will have to intervene if the Israeli operation in Gaza continues . Iran's warning comes as the Biden administration seeks to dissuade Tehran and Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah from going to war. This week, the United States sent a group of aircraft carriers and fighter jets to the region for precisely this purpose of deterrence .

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks has risen to 2,329, while the wounded are 9,714.

(Unioneonline/vl)