International

The Israeli military has been given the ‘green light’ to enter Gaza whenever it deems necessary, potentially paving the way to a ground invasion in the upcoming hours. That’s according to a member of the country’s security cabinet who spoke to ABC News on Thursday. Economy Minister Nir Barakat, told ABC News that the primary objective is to destroy Hamas, even if it takes a year, with hostages and civilian casualties considered secondary. “We shall do all efforts to bring our hostages [back] alive” he stated, but “the first and last priority” is to destroy Hamas.