Hamas plans to continue attacks from Gaza to the West Bank

“A unit carrying intelligence documents and maps indicated the intention to continue the attack all the way to the West Bank border,” the publication quoted intelligence sources as saying. According to the newspaper, Hamas hoped that the scale of the attack would force Israel to respond with a “stunning” blow that would lead to a conflict that would engulf the entire region.

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said that Western countries are showing double standards in their response to the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. "Our Western colleagues have shed crocodile tears in many cases in Ukraine, where the situation is much more questionable and problematic. They do not even dare to be straightforward when it comes to Israel's actions," Polyanskiy said. He added that the US does not want to hear anything resembling a call for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and opposes any UN Security Council action that could "jeopardize" Israel's ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Polyanskiy insisted that Russia’s criticism of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip did not come out of nowhere when the conflict with Hamas erupted earlier this month. “Nothing has changed,” the Russian official said. “It’s not like we suddenly started criticizing Israel after October 7. I think we have always condemned what Israel is doing in the occupied territories… Israel has known our criticism.”

In the latest statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen affirmed that the country will continue to conduct military operations in the Gaza Strip and protect national security even without international support. Speaking on Channel 14, Foreign Minister Cohen affirmed: "First, we have seen unprecedented support for Israel on the international stage. Dozens of world leaders and foreign ministers have come here and expressed solidarity. But I need to be very clear that even if international trust is no longer there, we will continue to work towards achieving the two goals we have set: eliminating Hamas and releasing all hostages"./.