Israel’s head of the National Security Council has announced that the country anticipates “another seven months of fighting” in Gaza to achieve the goal of dismantling Hamas.
The conflict began on October 7, when Hamas-led militant groups launched a surprise assault on Israel, including a barrage of several thousand rockets and an estimated 3,000 militants breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier to attack Israeli civilian communities and military bases.
The war has prompted strong international reactions, with more European countries recognizing the state of Palestine and the International Criminal Court charging the Israeli Prime Minister with war crimes.
In a radio interview on Israeli station Reshet Bet on Wednesday, Tzachi Hanegbi said:
“It was honestly stated in the first days of presenting the plans to the cabinet that the war would be long.”
“It is structured on a staged basis, with the year 2024 defined as a year of combat. We are now in the fifth month of 2024, which means we expect another seven months of fighting to deepen our achievements and achieve our goal of destroying the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” he added.
“You need to have patience and know how to stand strong. This resilience is what has allowed this nation to survive for 75 years, and even for 3,000 years before that. Just don’t use a stopwatch on ourselves or set ultimatums,” he said.
