The “second phase” of Israel’s war with Gaza
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 October 2023
⏱️ 17 minutes
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Summary
Israel plunged Gaza into a communications blackout Friday that left more than 2 million people without cell service or internet access for almost two days. On Saturday, it began a major ground assault on territory, ushering in a new phase of the war.
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In a televised address Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the goals for the new phase of Israel’s war with Hamas were clear: “To beat the enemy and guarantee our existence.”
Since then, Israeli troops have swiftly penetrated deep within Gaza. As a relentless bombing campaign continues, the military confirmed that combined infantry, armor and engineering forces are all inside Gaza’s borders.
Amid the barrage, Gazan civilians scrambled for safety — and struggled to communicate with loved ones and the outside world following a communications blackout that stymied access to cell service and the internet for two days. Hundreds were killed, bringing the death toll in Gaza to more than 8,000 since the war began, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, the status of more than 200 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas weeks ago remains uncertain.
Reporter Miriam Berger is in Tel Aviv covering the conflict for The Post. She says this moment has left both Israelis and Palestinians feeling existentially threatened — and bracing for a long fight ahead.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On Friday night, Gaza went silent. |
| 0:06.0 | We are in the middle of the Gaza City. |
| 0:10.9 | We suddenly lost connection of everything, the internet and everything. |
| 0:16.3 | And we were not able to talk to anyone in different parts across the Gaza Strip. |
| 0:20.5 | It was a near total communications blackout. |
| 0:23.6 | A Palestinian journalist named Hind Kadari caught the terrifying moment on tape. |
| 0:28.8 | I don't know where my family is, I don't know what's happening. |
| 0:32.9 | It's also very sad that we don't hear any ambulances. |
| 0:36.1 | And this may mean that the ambulances are not being able to mobilize and to move in transport. |
| 0:48.5 | It's a high sign. |
| 0:50.2 | Then, on Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to his country |
| 0:55.2 | in a televised address. |
| 0:56.8 | In the middle of the night, we were able to talk to anyone in different parts across the Gaza Strip. |
| 1:03.0 | In the middle of the Gaza Strip. |
| 1:05.0 | Soldiers had entered the gates of Gaza, he said, beginning the second phase of Israel's war with Hamas. |
| 1:11.9 | It was a three-year-old who was in the middle of the war, who was the mayor. |
| 1:17.1 | So, you know, in recent days, weeks, they had had a few sort of raids. |
| 1:21.7 | They went in, they came out. |
| 1:23.9 | And everyone was asking themselves, when does the ground incursion begin? |
| 1:27.8 | And what we seem to be seeing instead is that it's a gradual expansion of its ground assaults, ground operations. |
| 1:34.5 | But, you know, slowly, slowly, they seem to be moving and bringing more forces into parts of that territory. |
| 1:41.3 | That's Miriam Berger. |
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