Terror-labeled Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel on Saturday morning and the country has responded by attacking the Gaza Strip.
So far, almost 3,000 people have lost their lives and several hundred of the victims have been children.
The Israeli military has called on the 1.1 million people living in Gaza City to evacuate southwards within the next 24 hours – a call criticized by the United Nations, which warns it could have catastrophic humanitarian consequences.
Hamas, in turn, rejects the military’s order and has called on Palestinians to stay put.
Ground offensive awaits
TV4 Nyheternas Middle East correspondent Terese Cristiansson is on the ground in Israel, together with photographer Felix Larnö, to depict the war – where many experts now believe that a ground offensive is imminent.
– There is incredible pressure from the Israeli population that the IDF, the Israeli military, should act strongly against all of Gaza and not just against Hamas. And it is clear that the ground offensive is symbolic of exactly this, says Cristiansson, on site in Jerusalem.
– I think that part of what came out today, that you are going to bomb large parts of Gaza and that a million people are going to move to the south, is also about showing the population that you are doing something. Then there is no doubt that they are also serious militarily, she continues.
The many victims of the war
During the week, TV4’s team met, among other things, Nazih Mohammed Kuarea from Gaza, who is currently stranded on the West Bank.
– I think that if I return home and do not find my children alive, he says.
Cristiansson has also interviewed 36-year-old Alina Master, who survived the Hamas massacre at the festival site in southern Israel, by pretending to be dead for five hours.
– I can still smell burnt meat and the blood of my friends, she says.