Israel is not ruling out a ground offensive into Gaza against Hamas, an international spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says.
In an interview airing Tuesday, Maj. (Res) Ben Wahlhaus told CTV鈥檚 Power Play host Vassy Kapelos that if the IDF receives operational directives from the Israeli government to launch a ground offensive, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 the mission that (they鈥檒l) carry out.鈥�
鈥淎ll options are on the table at the moment,鈥� Wahlhaus said. 鈥淥ur goal, our priority, is to safeguard our civilians and to do that we need to stop Hamas鈥� attacks, which are ongoing.鈥�
Now into its fourth day, the fighting sparked by Canadian-designated terrorist group Hamas' incursion into Israel and Israeli reprisal strikes has killed and stranded thousands, including Canadian citizens.
Wahlhaus said Israeli forces have secured the country鈥檚 border and have been in the process of going house-to-house in dozens of towns and cities to ensure no Hamas operatives remain in Israel.
鈥淗owever long it takes to rid Hamas of its capabilities and its attacks against Israel, that鈥檚 what we鈥檒l do,鈥� he said, adding that more than 300,000 reserve soldiers have been called on to join in those efforts.
Wahlhaus said Israeli forces will 鈥渕ake every effort鈥� to avoid further civilian casualties in Gaza, but that Hamas is creating a 鈥渄ifficult operation鈥� by 鈥減urposefully鈥� putting their own civilians in harm鈥檚 way.
鈥淲e have no choice but to stop Hamas鈥� military capabilities,鈥� Wahlhaus said. 鈥淚t cannot be a situation where hundreds of terrorists are streaming across your border and massacring your civilian population, with thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into population centres and killing civilians, that is not a situation that anyone can let happen.鈥�
鈥淥ur fight is not with the civilian population,鈥� he added. 鈥淥ur fight is with Hamas. But as I said, their war is a war on civilians, and it's on their own too.鈥�
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has voiced support for Israel, and said at a solidarity gathering in Ottawa Monday that Canada 鈥渦nequivocally鈥� condemns Hamas鈥� attacks, echoing comments from several other world leaders.
鈥淲e stand with Israel and reaffirm our support for Israel's right to defend itself, in accordance with international law,鈥� he said.
According to a statement from Canada鈥檚 Department of National Defence on Tuesday, officials 鈥渄o not anticipate鈥� a need for Canada to assist Israel militarily.
When asked if that may change the longer fighting continues, Wahlhaus said Israel will continue to defend its civilians, and he expects the situation will be drawn out.
鈥淭his will be a protracted fight,鈥� Wahlhaus said. 鈥淗amas does not make it easy for us in Gaza by deliberately hiding behind the civilian population, by turning a territory that it's governed for 15 years into a terrorist stronghold, full of tunnels and weapons storage sites and mosques and homes and hospitals.鈥�
Wahlhaus said there will be 鈥渁 lot of questions that need to be answered鈥� in the coming weeks and months about how Hamas鈥� forces were able to carry out such an extensive attack, considering the level of sophistication of Israel鈥檚 defence and intelligence systems.
But he added the current focus is on defending civilians and stopping further infiltration attempts by Hamas.
鈥淭hey want this to be a protracted fight,鈥� Wahlhaus said. 鈥淭hey want more civilians to suffer, but we are not afraid of that, and we will make sure that the job is done.鈥�
Maj. (Res) Ben Wahlhaus鈥檚 full interview with Kapelos is in the video at the top of this article.
