Israel's anticipated ground invasion of Hamas-held Gaza had not begun by mid-day Monday local time as Netanyahu worked to give civilians more time to leave the area, Rosenberg, the editor and publisher of AllIsraelNews, said on American Family Radio Monday.
Netanyahu on Friday had urged residents of northern Gaza to leave, telling them Israeli raids would begin in 24 hours. The region has already been attacked with an air campaign since Hamas terrorists began hostilities on Oct. 7, breaking through the border wall and landing on Israeli grounds on paragliders. The death toll from those coordinated attacks has now surpassed 1,400. Since then, Israel has amassed troops near the Gaza border.
"Netanyahu gave Palestinian residents of northern Gaza, particularly in and around Gaza City, 24 hours to flee south to give them time to get out of the way and away of all of the Hamas bunkers, missile sites, command centers … all the Hamas infrastructure, which is mostly located in and around Gaza City entirely," Rosenberg explained to show host Jenna Ellis.
The New York Times has reported that approximately half a million Palestinians have fled south in response to Netanyahu's message. But the same terrorists who killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians in brutal fashion are blocking the path to safety for the Palestinian people.
"We're seeing evidence that Hamas themselves are telling people to stay in place, and they're blocking the route to get south. Now, why would Hamas do that? Because Hamas doesn't want just Jewish people to die; Hamas [also] wants Palestinians to die. Why? Because they want television images of dead Palestinians so that they can say to the world, 'See, we're not the monsters. Israel is the monster,'" Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg's news website, AllIsrael.com, has been providing up-to-the-minute coverage, but the site was offline on Monday. He explained that AllIsrael.com on Monday morning received its third cyberattack since the Hamas atrocities. He and his staff are working to bring the site back online.
"Somebody doesn't want us to be providing honest, credible coverage," he said.
Ground invasion preceded by IDF's largest bombing campaign ever
The primary purpose of the air campaign is to soften the target areas for when troops do converge, but the IDF has taken out some key elements of Hamas leadership in the process.
The IDF announced over the weekend that it had killed two Hamas commanders – Merad Abu Merad and Ali Qadi – who were key planners in the Oct. 7 attack. Merad was the head of the Hamas aerial system, while Qadi was the company commander of a commando force, Reuters reported.
"We're witnessing probably the largest and most aggressive bombing campaign in northern Gaza ever," Rosenberg said. "We're talking about precision missiles and airstrikes. I'm not aware that there have been more missiles and bombs dropped there in Israeli history. I could be wrong about that. If you go back to the actual conquering of Gaza back in 1967, but I think where we are now, it's much, much more. So, there's a lot of action going on."
The Christian journalist acknowledged that delaying the ground invasion helps the Palestinians prepare the best they can, but he argued it also benefits both warring sides.
"Of course, it gives Hamas more time to booby trap, to lay mines, and for some of them to escape or blend into the crowd," he stated. "I can't even think of another government that tells its sworn mortal enemy [that] it's got time to get out of the way or, or to set things up, set up traps – but I'm glad that we're doing it.
"The other thing is it allows the [Israeli] army time to get ready. We don't keep a big standing army of a million people like in the United States. We have reservists – and almost every young man I know under the age of 40 is gone [to prepare for battle]. My wife just hosted her normal weekly Bible study here, and none of the women have a husband around anymore. They're all at the front, and they're all preparing, and they're all training, and they all know," Rosenberg said.
Not all of those military personnel are preparing to invade Gaza. A number of them have also been assigned to the northern border where IDF officials anticipate a second front opening with attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran says it will stand down in Israel-Hamas war
While Israel's enemies plot their war strategy, at least one says it will stand down. Collin Rugg, of the news and commentary website TrendingPolitics.com, reported Monday morning that Iran in an announcement to the United Nations said it will not support Hamas with boots on the ground.
"The resistance can defend themselves. Iran's armed forces will not engage, provided that the Israeli apartheid does not dare to attack Iran, its interests and [its] nationals," the statement said.
Much has been made of the renewed sense of unity and patriotism in Israel after a summer of deep divisions over a new law passed by Netanyahu's government that limits the authority of Israel's Supreme Court. Thousands of Israelis blocked main roads and access to the main airport in protests. In Jerusalem, police turned a water cannon on some protestors and dragged away others by force in what was called the deepest political splits the country has seen in decades.
Now, however, Netanyahu and his former political opponent Benny Gantz, a one-time defense minister and IDF chief of staff, are working together.
"It's very, very good that these two are working together. Gantz brings a lot of experience, and the country needs comfort that this is not a political operation. This is the unification of government and opposition together," Rosenberg said.
