Israel has ended the intense fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip, Isreali Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reveals.
The minister also claimed the intensive phase of the ground attack in the south of the sealed-off coastal strip in the area of the city of Khan Younis will also soon be over.
“At the end of the war, there would be no military threat from Gaza. Hamas will not be able to control and function as a military force in the Gaza Strip.
“The IDF would have full freedom of action to do whatever is required to defend the citizens of Israel,” the defense minister said.
“It may take a long time, but it would end with a single scenario—total victory.”
He, however, said that the army would keep up military pressure to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
“If the fire stops, the fate of the hostages will be sealed for many years in the captivity of Hamas,” said Gallant.
“Without military pressure, no one would talk to us. Only from a position of strength can the hostages be freed,” he claimed.
International pressure has been mounting on Israel to limit the severity of its attacks and avoid the enormous civilian casualties that have characterized assault on Gaza.
Washington has urged Israel to shift away from heavy bombardment and toward more targeted operations against the Islamist militant group Hamas.
