Israel has made the decision to launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi told
TASS.
"I will say that the decision has been made. This decision has to do with achieving our goals, which we have already talked about. This is the destruction of all Hamas terrorist organizations and the release of hostages. And so, this cannot be done without a ground operation, among other things. Therefore, we can say that the decision has been made," the diplomat said.
At the same time, Ben Zvi did not specify when the ground operation would begin.
"We should not forget that over 1,400 of our people have been killed," the ambassador noted. "We must stop all this, we have to deal with it," he stressed.