Hamas Vows to 'Repeat Oct 7 Attacks' as Blinken Lands in Israel and IDF Surrounds Gaza City

JERUSALEM, Israel – Nearly one week after Israel's Gaza ground campaign began, Israeli forces have encircled Gaza City. The next phase of the fighting could be the most dangerous. Intense fighting continues in and around Gaza City, the Hamas stronghold. The I.D.F. Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, said the military is destroying Hamas's terror infrastructure. Hamas's elaborate labyrinth of tunnels is one of the Israeli military's main concerns. Russian television was allowed access into some of the more than 300 miles of tunnels.

President Joe Biden announced that another 74 Americans have been evacuated out of Gaza through the Rafa Crossing into Egypt. The White House also defended the president's idea of a humanitarian pause.

"A temporary pause that's localized that would allow us to get aid in and to get our people out is a good thing for the people of Gaza," National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby explained. "It's a good thing for the Americans that are being held hostage. And it's not going to stop Israel from defending itself because the security assistance we're providing continues to flow. And a temporary pause doesn't mean a general cease-fire where the war is over. It means a pause, only temporary, for a specific purpose."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived today in Israel and wants to push for that humanitarian "pause" or "pauses" that may also help with the release of hostages.

The Times of Israel reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is weighing the idea, but some are concerned this could be a step toward a cease-fire of some sort, or an opportunity for Hamas to strengthen itself.

In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal argued:

"Hamas has two messages for two different audiences. To the international community, it pleads for a cease-fire on humanitarian grounds. To the Arab world, it pledges to repeat its Oct. 7 attacks and sacrifice as many Palestinians as it takes to destroy Israel. That's what a cease-fire means to Hamas: a chance to repeat Oct. 7 another day. The similar idea of a 'humanitarian pause,' gaining steam on the Western left, is, to Hamas, merely an opportunity to reload."

Up north, the I.D.F. is attacking Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon after the terror group continues firing rockets into Israel. CBN's Chuck Holton was on the scene of a rocket strike in Kiryat Shmona.

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