Former Israeli General: Gaza War Will Last At Least A Year

The war in Gaza will last at least a year. This was stated by Major General Amos Yadlin, former head of the Israeli Air Force who is close to senior active commanders.

He compared the operation in the Palestinian enclave to the international military campaign against Islamic State in 2017, which lasted nine months. But the situation in Gaza is much more challenging, Yadlin stressed.

"It will take a year to defeat Hamas. This is not the Six-Day War (of 1967). The timeline is long... Mosul and Raqqa (Islamic State bastions) were not fortified underground... and the coalition included 85 countries".

At a briefing, Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said that central and southern Gaza, where the military effort is now concentrated, was "dense and saturated with terrorists" entrenched in an "underground city of tunnels".

It will take three months to clear the area and the fighting will "continue into 2024," Hagari said. He added that scattered fighting could be expected in northern Gaza, along with rockets sporadically fired from there into Israel, but that Hamas fighters were "without structure and without commanders".

There are widespread fears that clashes along Israel's northern border with Hezbollah could escalate into all-out war, possibly plunging the region into a wider conflict.

Benjamin Netanyahu said the war will not end until the goals of "crushing" Hamas, freeing Israeli hostages and ensuring Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel's security are achieved.

"I say this to both our enemies and our friends. This is our responsibility and this is our commitment."

Netanyahu faces a difficult meeting this week with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is on a week-long tour of the Middle East. Washington's top diplomat is expected to demand that Tel Aviv do more to protect civilians in Gaza, allow more humanitarian aid to reach the territory and offer more detailed proposals for governing the territory after the Israeli military offensive ends.

Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, suggested last week that an unspecified Palestinian Authority - allegedly made up of local community leaders - would take over the enclave. Gallant also pointed out that a more precise approach will be sought to attack Hamas fighters in order to reduce civilian casualties.

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