Israel pushes back against calls for ending offensive, saying campaign will 'take time'

Israeli soldiers take positions near the Gaza Strip border, in southern Israel on Monday December 11, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

  • Fighting in Gaza could last well into 2024 Israel has said

  • A spokesperson for Hamas' Al Qassem Brigades wing has warned Israeli leaders that 'what is coming is worse and greater'

  • More than 18,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza - around two-thirds of whom are thought to be women and children - according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

  • At least 1,200 people died in southern Israel, after Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched attacks into southern parts of the country on October 7

Israel’s defence minister on Monday pushed back against international calls to wrap up the country’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying the current phase of the operation against the Hamas militant group will “take time.”

Yoav Gallant, a member of Israel’s three-man war cabinet, remained unswayed by a growing chorus of criticism over the widespread damage and heavy civilian death toll caused by the two-month military campaign.

Mr Gallant signaled that the current phase, characterised by heavy ground fighting backed up by air power, could stretch on for weeks and that further military activity could continue for months.

“We are going to defend ourselves. I am fighting for Israel’s future,” he said.

His comments come after a spokesperson for Hamas said there would be further attacks against Israeli civilians.

Hamas Political Bureau Deputy Chairman Saleh al Arouri said Hamas will not agree to further hostage-for-prisoner exchanges until Israel ends its ground operation and there is a “comprehensive ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, the Institute for the Study of War.

“What is coming is worse and greater,” Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Al Qassem Brigades wing of Hamas, said.

Fighting resumed on December 1, following a seven-day truce for hostage and detainee exchanges.

Qatar, which mediated the recent pause to allow for the safe swapping of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, said efforts to stop the war will continue, but chances of a ceasefire are waning.

Israeli troops are encircling Hamas’s last two strongholds - Jabalya and Shejaiya - in northern Gaza, Mr Gallant said Monday.

Gallant said the next phase would be lower-intensity fighting against “pockets of resistance” and would require Israeli troops to maintain their freedom of operation.

“That’s a sign the next phase has begun,” he said.

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