Israel promises 'unrelenting attacks' on Hamas; US, Obama urge caution

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Israel's military said it was preparing for «unrelenting attacks» to dismantle Hamas while former U.S. President Barack Obama warned that «any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire.»

The Palestinian health ministry said the Gaza death toll in two weeks of air strikes had topped 5,000.

Israel pounded hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air on Monday as its soldiers fought Hamas militants during raids into the besieged Palestinian strip where civilians are trapped in harrowing conditions.

Hamas on Monday said it had freed two Israeli women among the more than 200 hostages taken during its Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel in which the Islamist group killed 1,400 people.

They were the third and fourth hostages to be released.

Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi issued a statement suggesting that Israel had no intention of curbing its strikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip and hinting that it was well prepared for a ground assault.

«We want to bring Hamas to a state of full dismantling,» Halevi said. «The path is a path of unrelenting attacks, damaging Hamas everywhere and in every way.

»We are well prepared for the ground operations in the south," he added, referring to southern Israel, which abuts Gaza.

«There are tactical, operative, strategic considerations that have provided additional time, and troops who have more time are better prepared, and that is what we are doing now.»

In public, the United States has stressed Israel's right to defend itself but two sources familiar with the matter said the White House, Pentagon and State Department have stepped up private appeals for caution in conversations with the Israelis.

A U.S. priority is to gain