By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser said Wednesday that Hamas has not yet been defeated.
“It is still too early to talk about the next day after Hamas as the group has not yet been defeated,” Tzachi Hanegbi told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as cited by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, killing at least 24,448 people and injuring 61,504 others, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli army said at least 529 soldiers have been killed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict amid fierce clashes with Palestinian resistance fighters.
Netanyahu said he will not halt the Gaza war until Hamas is annihilated, and hostages are released amid criticism of his government’s failure to formulate a plan for the post-war period.
Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 136 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced an end to the “high-intensify” ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip. He said the intense phase will also end soon in southern Gaza.
According to the UN, around 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli onslaught, while all of them are food insecure. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala