Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that Israel’s forthcoming ground offensive in Gaza could last for months. Speaking at the Israeli Air Force’s command center in Tel Aviv, Gallant outlined that the operation would aim to eradicate Hamas from the region. “This needs to be the last maneuver in Gaza. … There will be no Hamas,” he said.
Gallant elaborated on the phased approach of the military operation. The first phase involves an initial military campaign with airstrikes and a ground maneuver to destroy operatives and infrastructure. The subsequent phases will see lower-intensity fighting and the establishment of a new security regime in the coastal enclave.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which erupted on October 7, has resulted in significant casualties. According to official statistics, over 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, with another 5,431 injured. The Hamas-run Health Ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes have killed 5,087 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. More than 1,000 Hamas terrorists were killed during the group’s incursion into Israel and massacres in Israeli border towns and villages. Nearly 100 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and civilians since October 7, and more than 40 fighters associated with Hizbullah and other armed groups have died in exchanges of fire over Israel’s northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.