Military operations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip may continue for several more months. This was stated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his weekly press conference, his words were quoted by the newspaper The Times Of Israel on Saturday, December 30th.
“We will ensure that Hamas no longer poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
Netanyahu stressed that the military campaign will continue until all of Israel's goals are achieved. This could take several months, he said. The Prime Minister also insisted on the need to ensure security at the border and the return of all hostages home.
Earlier that day, it was reported that 100 people were killed in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours as a result of IDF strikes on populated areas in the central part of the enclave, and another 158 were injured.
Prior to this, on December 29, the Republic of South Africa (RSA) asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule that Israel had violated its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention through its actions in the Gaza Strip.
On December 12, the UN General Assembly (GA) adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone. 153 states, including Russia and China, voted for the resolution, 10 countries voted against it, and another 23 states abstained from voting.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, when the Hamas movement subjected Israeli territory to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, and also invaded the border areas in the south of the country and took hostages. That same day, Israel began retaliating against targets in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians are seeking to return the borders between the two countries to the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestine wants to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses the conditions set.
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