(NewsInsights.org) – Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel shocked and horrified people globally. Yet, nearly an equal number reacted to Israel’s brutal counter-offensive that caught Gazan Palestinian civilians, including women and children, in the crossfire. In a Christmas Day op/ed in the Wall Street Journal, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called the destruction of Hamas the first prerequisite to peace in Gaza. On Tuesday, December 26, Lt. General Herzi Halevi, Chief of the Israeli General Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), told reporters to expect the war to “continue for many more months” in a press conference.
Halevi stated the dismantling of Hamas entailed “no magic solutions or shortcuts.” Instead, the military leader said only “determined fighting” could accomplish the task, adding that Israel is “very, very determined.”
Halevi spoke in the wake of Israeli air strikes on refugee camps in central Gaza that killed more than 100 and injured hundreds more. He met with troops in the north, battling in the area of Gaza City. He said the IDF had nearly completed its mission of dismantling Hamas’s forces in that area.
After the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire on December 12, the US partners began broaching the subject of using more “surgical” and targeted strikes with Israel.
On Friday, December 22, the Gaza Health Ministry, a branch of the Hamas-run Palestinian government, reported the death toll in Gaza had exceeded 20,000 since Israel’s counter-offensive began. That number correlates to approximately 1% of the pre-war Palestinian population of Gaza. The health officials estimated that women and children comprised about two-thirds of the victims.
After the recent air raids, the IDF began ground assaults against refugee camps, claiming Hamas was using them to recruit and train new combatants against Israel. The IDF has used similar justifications for attacks on hospitals, healthcare sites, and densely populated urban areas where the threat of civilian casualties ran high. Many refugees who were fleeing intense battles to the north or the south said they moved to the refugee camps just days before the attacks at the command of Israeli forces.
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