Israel’s war with Hamas is expected to last through the end of the year, a top official for the Jewish state said Wednesday.
Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s national security advisor, told Kan public radio he was “expecting another seven months of fighting” in Gaza to eradicate the Palestinian terrorists that carried out the massacre on Oct. 7.
The ongoing bloody war has led to growing international pressure for a cease-fire along with near-constant protests in the US.
More than 100 Israeli hostages remain in the under-siege Palestinian enclave following Hamas’ sneak attack last year.
Israel’s military has said from the start the “war will be long” and has designated 2024 “as a year of war,” Hanegbi said in the radio interview.
Hanegbi’s statement comes as Israeli forces move deeper into Rafah, one of the last remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza and the site of over a million civilian war refugees.
An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed two senior Hamas fighters, but led to a fire that killed at least 45 displaced civilians that were taking refuge in the area.
Israel’s military claims an explosion from a Hamas weapons cache was likely behind the horrific scene.
Two of the “smallest munitions” possible were used in the strike, which Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said could not have caused the deadly blaze.
On Wednesday, Israel said it took control of a strategic corridor at Gaza’s border with Egypt in a bid to cut off smuggling tunnels used by Hamas.
Outside of Rafah, Israeli forces were still fighting Hamas terrorists in other parts of Gaza that the military took control of months ago.
“You need to have patience and know how to stand strong,” Hanegbi said in the radio interview, according to CNN.
“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.”
With Post wires