Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant described the war in Gaza as very complex, and said that his forces would reach Rafah, which is crowded with displaced people in the south of the Strip.
Galant added in a press conference in Tel Aviv regarding the course of the war that has been going on for about 4 months, held on Monday evening, that the ground operation is progressing and achieving its goals, even though it is the most complex in the history of wars, according to his description.
He added that the ground operation will continue during the coming months in order to create conditions for the release of those he described as hostages, and that the army forces intend to reach Rafah, but he refused to reveal the manner or date of the possible operation, which has begun to raise fears for the fate of about 1,500,000 displaced people there.
The Israeli Defense Minister spoke about eliminating half of Hamas’s fighters in the Gaza Strip, saying that military pressure must continue so that there will be no Hamas from today, and that it will be replaced by a civilian authority.
He also spoke about the elimination of a number of Hamas military brigades, and said that its battalion in Khan Yunis is “on the verge of collapse,” claiming that the movement’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is not leading the war or controlling the forces, and that his main concern now is to survive himself, as he put it.
Despite his claim that a large portion of Hamas’ military force had been eliminated, the Israeli minister called on the movement to submit its response to the proposal for negotiating a prisoner exchange deal. He also called on the Israelis to unite to achieve the goals of eliminating Hamas and returning those he called the kidnapped.
Regarding the confrontations with the Lebanese Hezbollah, Gallant stated that if a war broke out in the north, there would be difficult costs for Israel, but they would be more difficult for Lebanon, he said.
He said that Israel is preparing on land and in the air in order to enable the Israelis to return to their homes in the north.
