Israel at war: What happened on days 21-22?

The Israel Defense Forces have entered the Gaza Strip and are operating on the ground with support from troops in the air and at sea, Israel's political and military leadership said Saturday night.

"Last night, additional ground forces entered Gaza, marking the beginning of the second stage of the war, whose goal is to destroy the military and political capabilities of Hamas and to bring our kidnapped citizens back," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an evening briefing. 

"We are only at the beginning of the road. The war will be tough and long," the prime minister said. But he stressed, "We are prepared for it. This is our second War of Independence. This is our mission, our purpose in life, and together we will prevail."

Netanyahu said that not only do "the people and the leadership stand behind our soldiers," but also the international community is rooting for Israel. 

"Our partners understand that if Israel doesn't win, they will be next," he said. "Many around the world understand well that Israel is not only fighting its war but a war for all of humanity, a war of humanity against barbarism."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of 229 families of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv.

"We will exhaust every possibility to bring them home," he said to the families at their meeting. The meeting was also attended by his wife Sara Netanyahu, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, and Gal Hirsch - the coordinator for hostages and missing persons.

This is the second meeting the Prime Minister has held with the families since October 7. Netanyahu also stated that this is one of the goals of the war, and claimed that "the key is the degree of pressure on Hamas. The greater the pressure, the greater the chances" of their release.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday "Israeli obstacles" including truck inspection procedures were impeding the prompt delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Palestinian enclave.

"The trucks must be inspected at the Israeli Nitzana crossing before they head to the Rafah crossing on a journey that takes a distance of 100 kilometers (62 miles) before they actually enter the Rafah crossing, which causes obstacles that significantly delay the arrival of aid," a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

The Rafah crossing, which is controlled by Egypt and does not border Israel, has become the main point of aid delivery since Israel imposed a siege on Gaza in retaliation for an attack by Hamas terrorists from the coastal strip on October 7.

Before the conflict, about 500 trucks a day were crossing into Gaza, but in recent days, an average of only 12 trucks a day have entered, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

The United Arab Emirates asked the United Nations Security Council on Saturday to meet "as soon as possible" following Israel's expanded ground operations in Gaza and the disconnection of telecommunications networks, diplomats said.

The 15-member council could meet as early as Sunday, diplomats said, and the UAE has asked for UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency providing aid to Palestinians (UNRWA), to brief.

Over 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men reported during the last 10 days at recruiting offices throughout the country, a large number of them in Jerusalem. It is the same recruitment office where, until now, almost all young haredim have been going to receive military exemption, as per the government coalition’s agreements. But now, motivated to participate in the war effort, many are volunteering to enlist.

It started with a tiny trickle and turned into a kind of flood. More and more ultra-Orthodox young people, most of them beyond conscription age, are packing a bag and reporting to a conscription office in their area of residence, some of them accompanied by their family that encourages the step.

What has caused this phenomenon, which less than a month ago would have been unheard of? Well, the reasons are varied, but at the root of all this change is one clear position: the growing feeling among the haredi public – Lithuanians and Hasidim alike – that it is impossible to stand by and do nothing after the massacre of October 7 and the war effort that is mobilizing the entire country.

“I feel that the country is in danger, and that’s why I come to do my part,” said Tzviki, a married father of three. Like many others, Tzviki, a 27-year-old resident of the mainly ultra-Orthodox suburb of Ramat Shlomo, is over the draft age.

The phenomenon is indeed exciting, but it is important to clarify the situation. 

Hamas was about to reach an agreement with Israel over the hostages held by the Palestinian militant faction but Israel had "stalled" on that possibility, a spokesman for the group's armed wing said on Saturday.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, also said in a video speech the group would only release all the hostages it has if Israel freed all Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas can also hold talks over a "partial" agreement over the captives, he added.

President Tayyip Erdogan addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies since the Israel-Hamas war began, courting his Islamist political base a day ahead of the centenary of Turkey's secular republic.

"Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it," Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags.

"We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal," he said.

In an hour-long speech, Erdogan also repeated his assertion that Hamas was not a terrorist organization, describing Israel as an occupier.

The IDF and Shin Bet released further documentation on Saturday of Hamas's use of the Shifa hospital, publishing clips from two interrogations of terrorists captured on October 7 after the massacre.

In the video, one of the terrorists openly admits that these tunnels and operation rooms are located under hospitals, including the Al-Shifa Hospital.

"Al-Shifa Hospital is huge, and so we can hide there," the terrorist said. He added that when Israel strikes Gaza, Hamas terrorists take cover in schools, hospitals, and other locations that Israel attempts to avoid.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Saturday recalled Israeli diplomatic representatives from Turkey "in order to conduct a reassessment of Israel-Turkey relations," in a statement he made on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Cohen made this statement shortly after Turkish President Erdogan repeated his assertion that Hamas was not a terrorist organization and described Israel as an occupier.

This is a developing story.

A Hamas rocket made an impact in Kiryat Ono on Saturday, Hebrew media reported.

The rocket reportedly fell inside a parking lot, according to N12. 

It is not yet known if there are any casualties.

This is a developing story.