The chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),Herzi Halevi, said the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will continue for “many more months.”
“This war’s objectives are essential and not simple to achieve, therefore, the war will continue for many more months,” Herzi Halevi said late Tuesday.
The IDF has been conducting a ground-and-air offensive in Gaza since October 7, after Hamas launched a series of rocket attacks on Israel.
The IDF says it is targeting Hamas’ military infrastructure, including tunnels, rocket launchers, and weapons depots.
The IDF also says it is surrounding the house of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas’ political wing in Gaza, and that it has arrested hundreds of Hamas members.
However, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated significantly, as the enclave faces shortages of fuel, electricity, water, and medical supplies.
The UN says that airstrikes are getting closer to hospitals and that the exodus of Palestinians from Gaza would be “catastrophic,” while warning of the heightened risk of atrocity crimes and the breakdown of public order in Gaza.
The international community has been calling for an immediate ceasefire and a political solution to the conflict.
UN Security Council has backed ramping up humanitarian aid to Gaza and urged the parties to respect international law.
The US, which is Israel’s main ally, has also expressed concern over the civilian casualties and the duration of the war. President Biden has condemned the reports of rape of Israeli women and girls by Hamas militants and urged Israel to scale back its offensive.
However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to intensify the campaign and enforce the demilitarisation of Gaza after the war ends.
He has also accused the UN chief of reaching a “new moral low” after invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, which allows the secretary-general to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that may threaten international peace and security.
The war has claimed the lives of at least 20,000 Palestinians and 300 Israelis, according to Hamas and the IDF respectively.
The war has also displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians, who have fled to Rafah, near Gaza’s border with Egypt, or sought shelter in UN-run schools and mosques.
The war has also disrupted the lives of millions of people on both sides, who have been living under constant fear of rockets and airstrikes.