1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:05,559 Speaker 1: Jonathan Conrickers, who is the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: Good morning, Jonathan, thank you for your time. I want 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: to ask you, good morning, the most difficult question, how 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: does Israel wipe out a mass on the ground your 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: stated intention? How can that objective be realized? 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 2: It will be realized. We are very committed to that, 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 2: and we have started the operations. We are degrading their 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 2: military capabilities slowly, steadily, but surely, and as we will 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: enhance our operations, that goal will be achieved. Because achieved, 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 2: because you see, it's a fundamentally different situation. This isn't 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 2: just another round of fighting between Hamas and Israel. This 12 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 2: is a watershed moment, a terror attack like we have 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 2: never suffered before in terms of the amount of casualties, 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 2: and as such, our response is going to be unlike 15 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 2: anything before, and so will the consequences be. 16 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 3: Good morning, Jonathan, Lizzie here, thank you for being with us. Look, 17 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 3: the United Nations, senior EU figures and agencies are all 18 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 3: concerned that there have already been breaches of international law 19 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 3: by Israel in Gaza. I suppose the second most difficult 20 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 3: question is how you wipe out Hamas on the ground, 21 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 3: but while minimizing civilian casualties. 22 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 2: Yes, I would refer the focus of said organizations and 23 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 2: people that you spoke about first and foremost to the 24 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 2: systemic violations of international law by Hamas. This all started 25 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 2: with Hamas massacring our civilians, not by mistake, on purpose, 26 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 2: including burning, raping, mutilating, and taking hostage women, children, babies, 27 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 2: and elderly. And it then continues with Hamas using poor 28 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 2: Palestinians as their human shields in operation. And it continues 29 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 2: with Hamas using the civilian infrastructure to hide behind. So 30 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 2: I failed to understand how the primary concern is Israel 31 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 2: and human rights. It's more, how has Hamas taken the 32 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 2: Gaza Strip captive and is using it for its military 33 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 2: jihadi purposes. And what we are trying to do is 34 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 2: simply to defend ourselves and to set the situation straight 35 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 2: for a generation to come. 36 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: As spokesperson for the IDF, what could Israel encounter on 37 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: the ground during an invasion, We know a lot of 38 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: people are talking about it being imminent within days. What 39 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: might your forces encounter on the ground from Hamas. 40 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 2: A very densely populated urban area where an enemy has 41 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 2: had the ability and time and resources to prepare the 42 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 2: battlefield defensively, focusing mostly on tunnel warfare and what we 43 00:02:55,680 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 2: call the subterranean dimension of warfare. Urban train is challenging 44 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 2: enough as it is. British troops have learned that many 45 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 2: times in recent times, so have the Americans, and so 46 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 2: have we, and it's challenging enough. What Ramas has added 47 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 2: to that complexity is the subterranean dimension and the fact 48 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 2: that they have no issues whatsoever to use civilians and 49 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 2: sensitive sites like schools, mosques and hospitals for their military purposes. 50 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 3: And how seriously are you watching your northern border with Lebanon? 51 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 3: Do you think that this conflict could escalate beyond Gaza. 52 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 2: We're watching it very seriously, tracking the activities of Chris Balan, 53 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 2: responding whenever Chris Bala attacks us, which they have done 54 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 2: a few times over the last days. We are careful 55 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 2: not to escalate a situation ourselves, but we are trying 56 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 2: to send a strong message to Chris Balan that it 57 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 2: would be very much not in the interests of neither 58 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 2: Riz Balan nor the state of Lebanon if they decide 59 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 2: to escalate the situation. 60 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: Does a ground invasion by Israel into girls that provoke 61 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: that escalation. Now that seems to be the fear of 62 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: the US. 63 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 2: Well, I don't think that provoke is the right word. 64 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: They are aggressors. It's this hole started with a Hamas 65 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 2: aggression and if it continues and develops into a Rhizbala aggression, 66 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 2: then that is the focus. We are not the aggressors. 67 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,119 Speaker 2: We're defending ourselves here. And if that is the case, 68 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 2: and if this Uranian funded terror organization that is using 69 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 2: Lebanon as its staging ground, if they'll attack us, then 70 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 2: of course we will have to defend ourselves and we 71 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 2: will do what we have, We will use what we have, 72 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 2: and we will do what we can in order to 73 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 2: defend ourselves and of course change the situation for the 74 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 2: better for generations to come and not continue constantly living 75 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 2: under the threat of Uranian proxies at our doorsteps. 76 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: So, in terms of duration, how long does the ground 77 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: invasion take do you think in Gaza? 78 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 2: It's definitely not a short affair because it's a complex area. 79 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 2: We would of course aspire to conduct military operations fast, 80 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 2: quick and decisive in order to minimize the risk for 81 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 2: casualties and including civilian ones. And to be able to 82 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 2: return our country to a normal state of affairs. We 83 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 2: are officially at war with all of the economic repercussions, 84 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 2: the civil repercussions, and the social ones. We would like 85 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,160 Speaker 2: to do that as swiftly as possible, but I think 86 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:43,840 Speaker 2: that on the balance between swift and thorough, we will 87 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 2: prepare the thorough and to get the job done and 88 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 2: fundamentally change the situation for future generations. Here. 89 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 3: What are the Israeli options to counter the tactics of 90 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 3: holding hostages in the tunnels and using them as human shields. 91 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 2: Extremely challenging, and we will have to be very creative 92 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 2: in order to get our hostages out. It's a situation 93 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 2: where I do not envy the commanders on the ground 94 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: and the people that will be trying to get our 95 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 2: hostages out. For sure, Hamas will do everything that they 96 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 2: can in order to leverage these poor hostages, these women, children, 97 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 2: elderly and babies that they've taken into Gaza, And unfortunately 98 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 2: we cannot anticipate anything but the cruelest of tactics from Ramas. 99 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 3: I know those Palestinian civilians who are being asked to 100 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 3: leave going to be allowed to return to Gaza after 101 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 3: they've left. 102 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 2: I don't know, and I don't know that anybody is 103 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 2: being asked to leave. The only thing that has happened 104 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 2: so far from our perspective, is that we have asked 105 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 2: Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip to relocate from the north 106 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 2: to the south out of a consideration for their safety, 107 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 2: and we want the area to be with as little 108 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 2: civilian population as possible so that they won't get affected 109 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 2: by the warfare. It's simply safer to be in the 110 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 2: southern part of the Gaza Strip, and that's why we 111 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 2: have advertised our intentions ahead of time, which militarily doesn't 112 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 2: make a lot of sense. It exposes us to the 113 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 2: enemy understanding what we're going to do, or having a 114 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 2: better understanding. But we've done that, jeopardizing a bit of 115 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 2: our own security in order to alleviate the humanitarian situation. 116 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 2: Sadly that's being used by Ramas, and Ramas is actively 117 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 2: undermining the ability of these Palestinian citizens civilians to evacuate 118 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 2: for their own safety. They've put up roadblocks, and they 119 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 2: have confiscated cause and threatened and used violence, all in 120 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 2: an effort to have their human shields readily by so 121 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 2: that they can use them in the fighting against US. 122 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: How much support currently are you getting from the US. 123 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: Obviously there are warships and assets positioned off the coast. 124 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: How much support are you getting from the US. 125 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 2: We are getting complete support from the political down to 126 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 2: the strategic and the military level. The level of coordination, 127 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 2: sharing of intelligence, planning, and trust is outstanding. The logistics 128 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 2: supplies have already started, which are very important, the replenishment 129 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 2: of munitions and defensive systems, and we are well coordinated, 130 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 2: very well coordinated when it comes to the different scenarios 131 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 2: and how we should respond to different types of aggression 132 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 2: in the region. But I think it's very important to 133 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 2: emphasize that politically, the United States, unequivocally the administration headed 134 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 2: by the President and then down through the Secretary of State, etc. 135 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 2: Are clearly unequivocally behind as well. And I want to 136 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,920 Speaker 2: be clear, we don't want a single American to do 137 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 2: any fighting on our behalf. We will do the fighting 138 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 2: by ourselves, and we will beat our enemies by ourselves. 139 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 2: It is the material, the support, the replenishment of munitions 140 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,199 Speaker 2: that are important, and of course the diplomatic support that 141 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 2: we are very aware that we will need in the future. 142 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,079 Speaker 1: How prepared, finally, Israel for a wider conflict? Is that 143 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: something that you are preparing for now? 144 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 2: We are prepared and we have been prepared, but it's 145 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 2: not something that we seek. We are a peace loving 146 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 2: country that wants to thrive and continue to live here 147 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 2: for hundreds of generations, and the war isn't what we're 148 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 2: looking for. But war was forced upon us by a 149 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 2: bloodthirsty terrorist organization of sub humans that perpetrated some of 150 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 2: the most worst atrocities seen in recent times. We're responding 151 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 2: to the and we will rectify the situation and make 152 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 2: and create a better future for ourselves and for our children. 153 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,839 Speaker 1: Jonathan Cohn Wickers, spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, Thank 154 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: you so much for joining us here on Bloomberg Radio 155 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: and for giving us some of your time.