Israel says war on Gaza likely to last another seven months
Al Jazeera
National security adviser says he expects another ‘seven months of fighting’ as Israel expands Rafah offensive.
Israel’s national security adviser says the continuing war on Gaza is likely to last through the end of the year.
In an interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster on Wednesday, Tzachi Hanegbi said “we are expecting another seven months of fighting” to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group.
His remarks came as Israel finds itself increasingly isolated on the world stage nearly eight months into the assault, with even the United States and other close allies expressing outrage over the civilian death toll.
Hanegbi defended Israel’s ongoing operations in Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, saying the frontier had become a “smuggling kingdom” since 2007, when Hamas began governing Gaza.
“Every rocket, every explosive device, every shot fired at Israel is because that border was breached,” he said.
