Palestinian anger explodes in West Bank as Israeli warplanes continue to pound Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’s deadly cross-border raid.
As Israel gears up to invade the besieged Gaza Strip, military officials have voiced fears of a possible “third front” opening up in the next-door West Bank.
Speaking to Reuters on Oct. 20, Jonathan Conricus, an army spokesman, said Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas sought to “engulf” Israel in a “two- or three-front war.”
“The threat is elevated,” the spokesman said.
Home to some 2.75 million Palestinians and 670,000 Jewish settlers, the West Bank also includes Israeli-controlled East Jerusalem—long a flashpoint for violence between the two sides.
Israeli fears of a “third front” emanating from the West Bank coincide with an ongoing Israeli air campaign against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
For the past 13 days, Israeli warplanes have pounded the coastal enclave, leveling buildings and killing hundreds—maybe thousands—of Palestinians.
The airstrikes come in response to a deadly cross-border raid by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, which left some 1,400 Israelis—soldiers and civilians—dead.
During the attack, Hamas gunmen also took scores of Israelis hostage, hoping to exchange them for thousands of Palestinians languishing in Israeli prisons.
On Oct. 20, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza was aimed at “eliminating” Hamas and creating a new “security framework.”
On the same day, Gaza’s health ministry said more than 4,000 Palestinians had so far been killed—and 13,000 injured—in round-the-clock Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has also vowed to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, around which it has amassed hundreds of troops, along with tanks and other offensive equipment.
Until now, however, it remains unclear when—or if—Israel will launch its promised ground invasion.
On Oct. 19, Mr. Gallant said that Israeli troops amassed along the enclave’s border would soon see the Hamas-run Gaza Strip “from inside.”
By Adam Morrow
