The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued an additional 10,000 body armors to reservists, according to reports from the Jerusalem Post. The distribution of body armors is part of the ongoing preparations for a ground operation in the Gaza sector, which has been made more complex due to the presence of a large number of civilian hostages.
While it remains unclear how fast the distribution of body armors will be and if there will be enough for all 360,000 reservists (taking into account that many reservists do not participate in combat operations or serve in infantry units), a source within the IDF stated that every soldier taking part in the invasion of Gaza will be equipped with body armor.
Concurrently with the distribution of body armors and other ammunition, Israel is actively conducting exercises as part of its preparation for the ground operation in the Gaza sector. The operation has been postponed, as the effective performance of the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system has given the Israeli leadership more time to choose the right moment for the invasion.
It was previously reported that the United States had requested Israel to postpone the ground operation in the Gaza sector.
On October 7, Hamas forces launched thousands of rockets into Israeli territory and declared the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. Thousands of militants infiltrated Israeli territory, seizing dozens of military vehicles and over a hundred hostages. Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country was in a state of war.
The IDF’s counter-operation has been named “Iron Swords,” with one of its objectives being the destruction of Hamas. The Israeli Air Force has carried out strikes on hundreds of Hamas targets in the Gaza sector, and the Israeli National Security Council has decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the sector. On October 13, Israel notified the United Nations that 1.1 million Palestinians must evacuate to the south of Gaza within 24 hours in anticipation of the ground operation.
Earlier, “Gazeta.Ru” answered key questions about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
