From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Bar says Air Force ‘aggressively’ hitting Hamas to lay groundwork for offensive
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The chief of the Israeli Air Force says fighter jets and drones are “aggressively” striking the Gaza Strip to clear as many threats as possible before ground forces begin their expected offensive.
“We are preparing the arena for an as effective as possible operation. Removing as many threats as possible from the ground and air,” IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar says in a call with reporters.
“We will do what is necessary, aggressively, so that if it is decided to maneuver, we will allow the best ground entry that will give the troops operational freedom of action,” Bar says.
“The Air Force will work shoulder to shoulder with the ground forces,” he adds.
Bar says the IAF is focused on fighting in the Gaza Strip, but it is “strongly and highly prepared for any development that may occur in the north as well.”
“The Air Force is deployed with all units in a state of war to respond with fire and attack as needed,” he says, after the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group and allied Palestinian factions have been launching attacks on the northern border.
On the continued fighting, Bar says: “We are hurt, but we fight. From the moment the incidents in the south began, the IDF and within it, the Air Force, has been working to remove any threat, both offensively and defensively.”
“We are investigating every day, and improving every day. We will continue to act with all our strength until a decisive victory,” he says.
During Hamas’s onslaught on southern Israel last weekend, combat helicopters were among the first forces to arrive and fight the invading terrorists, as well as deploy special forces to communities and army bases that were under attack.
Bar says the combat helicopter pilots fought “with determination” as they brought “troops to the battlefield while coming under fire.”
“We are proud of them and the reservists who prove the strength of the IDF and the Air Force,” Bar adds.
