War between Israel and Hamas: Israel says it expects ‘many more months’ of war
Israel expects the war in Gaza to continue for “many more months”, its military chief of staff said, while Israeli officials signaled they would continue their attack despite international calls for a ceasefire.
Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday that Israeli forces were focusing their efforts on southern Gaza after making progress against Hamas in the north. But he added that while Israel had killed “many terrorists and Hamas commanders,” destroyed parts of the militant group’s underground infrastructure and captured weapons, it was likely that some Hamas fighters in the northern part of the enclave were left behind.
“There are no magic solutions or shortcuts in the fundamental dismantling of a terrorist organization,” General Halevi said at a televised news briefing in southern Israel after returning from Gaza.
On Wednesday, the army’s chief spokesman, Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari, indicated that Israeli operations in the southern part of Gaza could be intensified. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have fled to the south of the territory after the Israeli army began demanding evacuations from the north in October and then launched a ground invasion.
“There remains significant work in southern Gaza,” said Admiral Hagari said in a statement.
The comments were the latest signals from Israel that the war would not end soon, even as its strongest ally, the United States, has pushed for a reduction in the intensity of military operations, which health authorities there say have killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza. The figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. It is estimated that women and children make up about 70 percent of the deaths.
The Israeli government has said it has plans a new phase of the fighting, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top military leaders have pledged in public statements that Israel will not end the war until all his goals are achieved.
Although the United States has not called for a ceasefire, disagreements have emerged between the Biden administration and Israeli officials over plans for the scope of the war, its timeline and plans for the governance of Gaza after the fighting has ended. This week, Ron Dermer, a top adviser to the Israeli prime minister, is visiting Washington for meetings with US officials that would focus on the next phase of the war and post-war Gaza, an Israeli official said.
In his remarks Tuesday, General Halevi said the army was focusing on Khan Younis, the largest city in the southern part of Gaza, as well as the central region of the enclave.
Underscoring the complexity of close-quarters fighting, General Halevi said it would take some time for the military to achieve its goals of dismantling Hamas and securing the release of the hostages taken during the October 7 attack, in which Israeli officials estimate that 1,200 people were killed. .
He stressed that the military would continue to target Hamas’s leadership and that there would be no “return to the pre-October 10 situation.” 7 reality,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ rule in Gaza before its military wing invaded southern Israel.
Johnatan Reiss reporting contributed.