Israel: Gaza war to last months
As fears of conflict spread rise
CAIRO / GAZA / JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s war on Hamas will last for months, Israel’s military chief said, as a string of incidents outside the Gaza Strip highlighted the risk of the conflict spreading.
Military chief of staff Herzi Halevi told reporters in a televised statement on Tuesday on the Gaza border that the war would go on “for many months.”
“There are no magic solutions, there are no shortcuts in dismantling a terrorist organization, only determined and persistent fighting,” Lieutenant-General Halevi said. “We will reach Hamas’ leadership too, whether it takes a week or if it takes months.”
Israeli actions intensified around Christmas, particularly in a central area just south of the seasonal waterway that bisects the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army told civilians to leave the area, though many said there was no safe place left to go.
Israel is determined to destroy Hamas despite global calls for a ceasefire in the 11-week-old war.
Gaza authorities on Dec. 26 buried 80 unidentified Palestinians whose bodies were handed over by Israel through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the Health Ministry said.
Israel says it is doing what it can to protect civilians, and blames Hamas for putting them in harm’s way by operating among them, which Hamas denies.
There are also growing signs that the conflict is starting to spread.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Dec. 26 on a container ship in the Red Sea and for an attempt to attack Israel with drones.
The Houthis have been attacking ships they say have links to Israel at the entrance to the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.