Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichai Adri said that Israel has imposed a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and is ready to launch a ground operation in the region.
Adri spoke about this in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"Israel is ready and alert to enter the next phase of the war, which is a ground maneuver, and Israel will proceed with this step at the time of its choosing," he said.
The IDF spokesman said that Israel's ground operation will continue until its main objectives are achieved, in particular the complete destruction of the Palestinian movement Hamas and all its leaders and commanders.
Adri added that at the moment, all Israeli armed forces are ordered to implement a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is being carried out on the ground.
"There are hostages of different nations, there are also killed people from 42 countries, among Russian citizens there are 21 victims and 7 kidnapped or missing. I think there are 8 hostages from the USA, 7 from Germany, 7 from Argentina and other countries," said Adri.
Earlier it became known that the Israeli military continues to prepare for the next stage of hostilities with Hamas.
