Situation very dire, military working hard to secure border area: IDF spokesperson

Tel Aviv [Israel], October 9 (ANI): Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Major Libby Weiss has called the situation "very dire" and added that the brutality of Hamas was a "horrific tragedy" for Israel.
In an interview with ANI, Weiss said that the Israeli military is working "very hard" to secure the border area. She stated that there are some ongoing battles taking place within Israel in communities along the south. Her remarks come as the Hamas terror group on Saturday launched a "surprise attack" on Israel, firing a barrage of rockets into the southern and central parts of the country.
On Hamas attack against Israel, Major Libby Weiss stated, "This has really been horrific at this stage, 36 hours here in Israel. Yesterday, Hamas invaded Israel and caused really the largest massacre of Israeli civilians in Israel's history. So, the situation is very very very dire. We have more than 300 casualties, thousands of injured people, tens of people who were kidnapped off the streets of Israel and dragged into the Gaza Strip.
"And the brutality that we saw of Hamas was truly .... It was really really horrific tragedy for us. And right now, the military is working very hard to secure the border area.There are some ongoing battles taking place within Israel in communities along the south and the IDF is doing really everything possible at this stage to secure the border," she added.
She called Hamas a "terror organisation" and added that they have been regularly intending to wipe Israel off the map. She noted that the goal of Hamas is to kill as many Israeli as possible.
"Well, we know that Hamas is a terror organisation. They talk very regularly about wanting to wipe Israel off the map, to target Israeli civilians. They have not hidden that this is their intention. And unfortunately, this is something that we have been really speaking about clearly to the world. And I think now there's no question about the brutality of this terror organisation. Their goal is to kill as many Israelis as possible. They are a terror organisation like any other. And this is what we see them doing. It's true horrific terror on the streets," Major Libby Weiss told ANI.
Speaking about the current situation in Israel, Weiss said, "Right now there are some ongoing battles that are taking place within Israeli territory. So, right now the first focus is to secure the border. The IDF has also started evacuating communities in the south to really try to distance the civilian population from what is taking place. At the same time, the Air Force is striking Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip."

"And really the focus here is to eliminate Hamas's and the Islamic Jihad's capabilities of being able to do this. It's a complex situation and of course, a dynamic one. The focus, though, right now is to secure the border, to strike these Hamas targets and to make sure that they're unable to do this ever again," she added.
She warned Hamas that it will pay a "heavy price" for what happened in Israel. She said that the Israeli Defense Forces, the Air Force is striking targets within the Gaza Strip.
Asked about any direct message for Hamas, Weiss said, "I don't think there's anything that I necessarily to speak directly, but I think we're sending the military is sending a very clear message here, whichis that there will be a very heavy price that they will pay for what happened here. The IDF, the Air Force is striking targets within the Gaza Strip. We will come out victorious from this, but there will be a very heavy price to pay for what happened here."
In response to question about world coming out in support of Israel amid the Hamas attack, Weiss said that the international community witnessed how women, children and elderly people were dragged across the border. She called Hamas "war criminals" and their attack on Israel is "horrific and completely inexcusable."
She said, "I think the widespread support that we're seeing is really a result of the horrors that everybody saw yesterday, certainly that we experienced firsthand here in Israel. But, that the world saw when women and children and elderly people are dragged across the border, when young people who are at a music festival are slaughtered brutally, it's really clear that nobody can support that, that it's so painfully clear that Hamas are war criminals, that what they have done here is horrific and completely inexcusable. So I think it really reflects the fact that the world understands that we are talking about a terror organisation looking to terrorise. And that's what we saw."
According to latest updates, more than 400 people lost their lives and still counting after Hamas launched an attack on Israel near the Gaza Strip, Times of Israel reported on Sunday. Among the dead, dozens of soldiers and police were killed in the attack.
In addition, the Israel-based media outlet claimed that over 2,048 wounded in the deadliest attack are being treated in hospitals, including 20 in critical condition and 330 seriously wounded. (ANI)