Israel has warned that its war with Hamas will last months, as the United Nations is alarmed by Israeli air strikes that killed over 100 Palestinians in two days in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
There are no shortcuts in dismantling a “terrorist organization,” Israel's military chief Herzi Halevi said in a televised statement, adding that the war “will continue for many more months.”
“There are no magic solutions, there are no shortcuts to dismantling a terrorist organization, only determined and persistent fighting. We will also reach out to the leadership of Hamas, whether it takes a week or months,” Halevi said.
The United Nations expressed concern last night about ongoing Israeli airstrikes as it appointed an outgoing Dutch minister as its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing bombardment of #Gaza by Israeli forces, which has reportedly left over 100 Palestinians dead since Christmas Eve. Israel Defense Forces must take all available measures to protect civilians,” the UN human rights office previously posted on X Twitter.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Wall Street Journal editorial on Monday, pointed to three prerequisites for achieving peace: “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarized and Palestinian society must be de-radicalized.”
Israel has been bombing Gaza since October 7 after a cross-border attack by Hamas killed 1,200 people in border towns and took about 240 hostage. Since then, around 21,000 Palestinians have died in the Israeli counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip.
However, the Israeli attacks have raised concerns about the safety of civilians.
UN estimates suggest that around 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced and many have fled south. The civilian population suffers from shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine.