Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says the military’s campaign in Gaza “may take a month, two or three, but at the end there will be no more Hamas”.
Gallant was speaking after operational briefing at the Israeli Air Force Operations Command and Control Centre.
“In terms of the operational aspects of manoeuvring, at the end of the day, nothing will stop the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”, he said.
“This should be our last manoeuvring operation in Gaza, for the simple reason that afterwards there will be no more Hamas.”
The minister expressed his appreciation to the air force and said the next stage, a widely-anticipated ground operation, “will come soon”.
How soon remains unclear.
In the next two days, visits are expected from the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the French President Emmanuel Macron.