Israel has warned that its war with Hamas fighters in Gaza will continue for “many more months” as another 241 Palestinians were killed in 24 hours.
Despite growing international calls for another ceasefire amid spiralling civilian casualties, Jerusalem’s army chief said there was no end in sight.
“There are no magic solutions,” Herzi Halevi told reporters. Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), told a news conference that the war would “continue for many more months” to ensure that “our achievements are preserved for a long time”.
“There are no shortcuts when it comes to thoroughly dismantling a terrorist organisation except being stubborn and determined in the fighting,” he added.
But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the war a “grave crime” against his people.
He called it unprecedented in the history of the Palestinian people.
Speaking in Ramallah to an Egyptian TV channel in his first interview since the war began, he said the territory had become unrecognisable and warned that the occupied West Bank could implode at any time.
The Palestinian leader accused Washington of prolonging the war by vetoing UN draft resolutions calling for a ceasefire.
And Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said at least 241 people were killed in the past 24 hours.
*The ministry said 382 people had also been injured over the same period.
The IDF admitted air strikes hit 100 targets from Jabaliya in northern Gaza to Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south.
There were also reports that it launched a ground offensive in refugee camps in central Gaza after ordering residents to evacuate.
Internet and telephone services were again cut across the Gaza Strip.
Halevi’s prediction of a lengthy war still to come followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning that the campaign was “not close to being over”. Israel yesterday said it hit more than 100 sites on Boxing Day.
It is reportedly extending ground operations to central Gaza.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says 20,915 Palestinians have been killed in more than 11 weeks of fighting.
The war began on 7 October after Hamas led a wave of deadly attacks on communities inside Israel. About 1.9 million have been internally displaced by Israeli bombardments since then, the United Nations said.
But the human cost continues to rise.
Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (Unwra) said: “We’re seeing very worrying reports of hunger and starvation in some places, and meanwhile the war continues, the displacement continues and UN shelters are overcrowded and overwhelmed.”
Last week US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Israel to lower the intensity of its strikes to limit “harm done to civilians”.
Some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed in the 7 October attacks.
About 240 people were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel says 132 are still being held.
But Mr Netanyahu told parliament: “We will not be able to release all the abductees without military pressure… we will not stop fighting.”
Israeli and Arab media has said that Egypt has proposed a plan for a ceasefire.
According to reports, the plan would see the phased release of all Israeli hostages and an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, ending with a suspension of Israel’s offensive.
A previous temporary truce deal negotiated by Qatar saw dozens of hostages released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
So far, both Israel and Hamas have resisted calls for a lasting ceasefire.
Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was yesterday Washington for talks with Mr Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The talks will focus on “matters related to the conflict in Gaza and the return of hostages held by Hamas”, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.
