Gaza Offensive to Last at Least to Year’s End, Israeli Official Says
The New York Times
The assessment, at odds with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that the country is “on the brink of victory,” came as Israel claimed control of a key buffer strip along Egypt’s border.
Israel’s national security adviser said Wednesday that he expected military operations in Gaza to continue through at least the end of the year, appearing to dismiss the idea that the war could come to an end after the military offensive against Hamas in Rafah.
“We expect another seven months of combat in order to shore up our achievement and realize what we define as the destruction of Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s military and governing capabilities,” Tzachi Hanegbi, the national security adviser, said in a radio interview with Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster.
The Israeli military also said Wednesday that it had seized “operational control” over a buffer strip along the southern edge of Gaza to prevent cross-border smuggling with Egypt that would allow Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups to rearm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly that controlling the corridor is critical for Israeli security in postwar Gaza.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said the zone was “Hamas’s oxygen tube” and had been used by the Palestinian armed group for “smuggling munitions into Gazan territory on a regular basis.” He said that Hamas had also built tunnels near the Egyptian border, calculating that Israel would not dare strike so close to Egyptian territory.
In recent months, Israeli defense officials have told the public to expect a protracted campaign in Gaza, although one that would progress in phases toward lower-intensity fighting.
Still, Mr. Hanegbi’s assessment of at least another seven months of military operations appeared to be at odds with earlier projections by Mr. Netanyahu, who said in April that the country was “on the brink of victory” in its war against Hamas.
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