Israel has struck more than 800 targets in Gaza since terror-labelled Hamas launched its massive offensive on Saturday. Over 600 Israelis are said to have died and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that Hamas will pay a heavy price.
TV4 News reporter Terese Cristiansson is on the ground in Israel. She states that many are getting ready for a much larger operation and a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
– And there is no getting around what the vast majority of people are talking about and are worried about – the people who are still missing. Either kidnapped or dead, but they have still not been identified. It arouses enormous emotions in people, she says.
“How could this happen?”
However, the biggest question remains.
– How could this happen? And how could this be missed by the Israeli intelligence that is seen as one of the best in the world? There are many who think it is extremely strange, says TV4 Nyheternas’ broadcast reporter.
At the same time, harsh criticism is directed at the Prime Minister and the government regarding the way of handling and informing about the situation.
– It’s about them being quiet and not much information coming out. People think you grope and wonder what lies ahead, says Terese Cristiansson.
That’s why it’s happening now
Elisabet Frerot, TV4 Nyhetern’s foreign affairs commentator, describes the whole thing as an advanced attack that must have been planned for a long time. But the fact that it is coming right now can be due to several reasons, not least of which is that it is 50 years since the Yom Kippur War began.
– And now Hamas has hostages that they can use in negotiations to free Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons, says Frerot.
In addition, it comes at a time when Israel has forged increasingly strong ties with Saudi Arabia.
– Hamas shows that no one can conclude an agreement in the Middle East without taking into account Palestine and also Iran, which is Hamas’s sponsor, says Elisabet Frerot.
The ambassador: “A country in shock”
Sweden’s ambassador to Israel, Erik Ullenhag, states that there are usually a couple of thousand Swedes in the country.
– But we have no information that Swedes have been affected, says Ullenhag.
The ambassador urges the Swedes in the country to follow what the authorities say and try to have correct information. The most important thing right now is to be near a shelter.
– It is a country in shock, says Erik Ullenhag.