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."

Qatar-mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas aimed at de-escalating fighting in Gaza continued on Saturday despite Israel's escalation of attacks on the enclave, a source briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Saturday.

Talks have not broken down, but are taking place at a "much slower pace" than before the escalation, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of talks.

Hamas is "ready to conduct" an immediate release of all Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip in exchange for all Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons, the terror group said in a statement attributed to Yahya Sinwar.

The IDF spokesperson, who was giving a daily briefing at the time of the statement, responded by suggesting that the timing of the statement was "psychological terror."

"We will continue to exhaust all options to bring them home."

Hamas is "ready to conduct" an immediate release of all Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip in exchange for all Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The IDF spokesperson, who was giving a daily briefing at the time of the statement, responded by suggesting that the timing of the statement was "psychological terror."

"We will continue to exhaust all options to bring them home."

Israel should consider the release of all the Hamas prisoners in exchange for Hamas freeing all the kidnapped Israelis it holds in Gaza, representatives of the kidnapped said at a rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“All of us here saw the tanks going into Gaza, and we are very worried," said Merav Leshem Gonen, who read a statement from the families after the meeting.

“We came out of a meeting two hours with the prime minister; it was very painful, and very clear things were said from the representatives of the families with an unequivocal demand that the [IDF’s] operations' activities weigh the fate of the kidnapped; the responsibility for this is on the government of Israel,” said Leshem Gonen, whose daughter Rumi was kidnapped from the music festival on October 7. 

“We demand that no move be taken that endangers the fate of our family member"

“We demand that no move be taken that endangers the fate of our family member, and that every action takes their well-being into account,” she said. 

“We made it clear that as far as the families are concerned, a deal for the immediate return of our family members within the framework of everyone for everyone should be considered and will have wide national support,” she said to cheers and chants of "bring them home now."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked at the press conference about taking responsibility for the Hamas massacre, to which he avoided the question and said that he'll "comment only after the fighting."

This is a developing story.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday condemned the Israeli ground operations in the Gaza Strip, the state news agency WAM reported, citing the country's foreign ministry.

UAE, which became the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020, also "expressed its deep concern over the Israeli military escalation and exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis that threatens more loss of civilian lives."

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry also released a statement on Saturday condemning any ground operations by Israeli forces that may threaten the lives of Palestinian civilians.

"The Kingdom condemns and denounces the ground operations carried out by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, and warns of the danger of continuing to carry out these blatant and unjustified violations of international law against our brotherly Palestinians," the statement said.

Over the weekend, many Israelis sustained injuries when rockets fired by Hamas struck several cities and towns. These attacks destroyed homes and buildings and heightened anxiety among the Israeli population.

Several people suffered minor to moderate injuries in the center of the country. Others suffered from shock.

When a rocket slammed into a Tel Aviv apartment building on Friday, four people were wounded, including two moderately. The victims, ranging in age from 20 to 78, were taken to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center for treatment. A 53-year-old male was suffering from a moderate abdominal injury, and a 20-year-old male had moderate injuries to his head and limbs. 

The others suffered from smoke inhalation.