By Abdel Raouf Arnaout and Riyaz ul Khaliq
JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) – Israel on Friday revealed that its “three-stage war" on Gaza is to establish a “new security system” in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“Goals of war in Gaza are to 'eliminate' Hamas (and) establish 'new security system',” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a parliamentary committee, as the war entered its 14th day on Friday.
Gallant said Israel is moving forward with “three stages” in its war on the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
“We are in the first phase, where a military campaign is conducted with fire and then a maneuver (ground war) with the aim of destroying activists and damaging the infrastructure in order to defeat and destroy Hamas,” he told the Israeli Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security.
“In the second phase, we will continue fighting, but with less intensity, as the forces work to eliminate pockets of resistance,” said Gallant.
He said the third step “will be to establish a new security system in the Gaza Strip… remove Israel's responsibility for daily life in the Gaza Strip.”
It includes, Gallant added, “creating a new security reality for the citizens of Israel and the area surrounding the Gaza Strip.”
“We are in a war. There is no choice. October 7 is the day the process of wiping out Hamas began,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Qudra said Friday the death toll in Gaza due to Israel's ongoing bombardment has climbed to 4,137, including 1,524 children and 1,000 women.
The number of injured has risen to 13,300, he told a news conference, adding that over 1,000 others are missing.
A Waqf official in Jerusalem told Anadolu that only 5,000 Muslims could attend congregational Friday prayers in Al-Aqsa mosque due to restrictions imposed by Israel.
The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air.
It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, along with stepping up raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank.
Officials have said more than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the conflict.