ERR in Israel: War has united populace, but many lack trust in government
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ground troops are ready to enter the Gaza Strip if a political decision along those lines is forthcoming, ERR reports. Some ordinary Israelis say they fear the cost of such an action, and the ongoing war, however.
"Aktuaalne kaamera's" Astrid Kannel visited Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the sites attacked after Hamas militants broke out of Gaza on Saturday, and located barely 3km from the 1949-1950 armistice line.
The village of around 1,000 people stands empty while IDF personnel await any order which may come for the ground forces to enter Gaza. The Israeli government has given its consent in principle to the entry of ground forces.
Around 100 of Be'eri's residents were either killed or taken hostage into Gaza on October 7, when the attacks came early in the morning, on Shabbat, at a time when many were still sleeping.
IDF spokesperson Marcus Cheff told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that: "The IDF is ready to do what is necessary – and what is necessary is to uproot Hamas' leadership, its infrastructure, its munitions."
"This is a dangerous place to be, just next to the border – the Hamas terror organization fires mortars, they fire rockets, every single day"
"Aktuaalne kaamera" reported that the war with Hamas has nonetheless unified Israelis, while at the same time has led to mistrust in the current government.
Carrie Keller-Lynn, political correspondent at online newspaper The Times of Israel, told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that: "There is an absolute lack of a feeling of safety, and a definite public crisis in terms of trust in government."
"In fact, the government has really failed to reassure Israeli citizens after this attack that the Gaza and its cordon are under its control," Keller-Lynn went on.
"People are both pretty much unified in their belief that Hamas needs to be eradicated, but very much concerned about the cost of the war ahead – They believe that it will be very bloody."
"Aktuaalne kaamera" reported that Israel will have to take into account that, if a ground offensive into Gaza goes ahead, a response may come from another Iran-backed terror organization, Hezbollah, which is much stronger than Hamas and whose stronghold is in Lebanon, to the North.
IDF airstrikes on Gaza continue; thousands of deaths have occurred, on all sides.
U.S. State Secretary Anthony Blinken visited Israel earlier in the week, and pledged his country's full support, while Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did much the same, and also attended a press conference with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Astrid Kannel.
