Israel to continue war with full military force after humanitarian pause: Defense minister

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Friday that his country will continue the war with full military force after the humanitarian pause in Gaza.

After a meeting with his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto at the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Galant said: “There will be a short pause, and after that we will continue to work with full military force.”

"We will not stop until we achieve our goals: destroying Hamas and returning the hostages from Gaza to Israel. There are 240 hostages and this is something we cannot accept nor tolerate,” Gallant added.

On the northern border area with Lebanon, Gallant said: “We have no interest in war, but we must deter our enemies.”

“We cannot return to the reality of Oct. 6. We were brutally attacked by Hamas, then we were attacked by Hezbollah. We will not tolerate threats directed at our citizens,” he added.

The four-day humanitarian pause between the Israeli army and Palestinian group Hamas came into effect on Friday morning in all areas of the Gaza Strip, temporarily stopping attacks for prisoner exchange and aid.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing more than 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi