Jerusalem, Oct 8: Israel's army said Sunday it aims to evacuate all Israelis living close to the Gaza Strip within 24 hours as it deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to fight Palestinian militants who had infiltrated into Israel.
"Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents living around Gaza," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that fighting was still on to "rescue hostages" held by militants in Israel.
"There are tens of thousands of combat soldiers in the area. We'll reach each and every community till we kill every “terrorist” (Palestinian freedom fighters) in Israel."
Our target is freedom: Hamas
The Hamas deputy chief said the group is engaged in a battle for freedom.
“This is not a [hit-and-run] operation; we started an all-out battle. We expect fighting to continue and the fighting front to expand. We have one prime target: our freedom and the freedom of our6 holy sites,” he said.
Al-Arouri said that Palestinians have a right to freedom, to fight the Israeli occupation and to safeguard their holy sites.
“We will continue to fight until we are rewarded with victory, freedom and independence,” he said.
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