Israeli defense minister says war on Hamas will last months as US envoy discusses timetable
The ambush is a fresh reminder that Hamas is still able to fight after six weeks of devastating warfare aimed at crushing its military capabilities.
By Najib Jobain and Kareem Chehayeb | Associated Press ••
NBC Universal, Inc.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the U.S. was urging Israel to pivot from high- to low-intensity tactical strategies amid growing scrutiny about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel's defense minister said Thursday it will take months to destroy Hamas, predicting a drawn-out war even as his country and its top ally, the United States, face increasing international isolation and alarm over the devastation from the campaign in Gaza.
Yoav Gallant's comments came as U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders to discuss a timetable for winding down major combat in Gaza. Israeli leaders repeated their determination to pursue the military assault until they crush the militant group for its Oct. 7 attack.
The exchange seemed to continue a dynamic the two allies have been locked in for weeks. The Biden administration has shown unease over Israel’s failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to offer wholehearted support for Israel with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing. Meanwhile, aside from small adjustments, Israel has changed little in what has been one of the 21st century’s most devastating military campaigns, with a mounting death toll.
The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammed Shtayyeh, said it’s time for the United States to deal more firmly with Israel, particularly on Washington's calls for postwar negotiations for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Now that the United States has talked the talk, we want Washington to walk the walk," Shtayyeh said in an interview with The Associated Press a day before he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to meet Sullivan.
A deadly Hamas ambush on Israeli troops in Gaza City this week showed the group’s resilience and called into question whether Israel can defeat it without wiping out the entire territory. The campaign has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million from their homes. Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
Gallant said Hamas has been building military infrastructure in Gaza for more than a decade, “and it is not easy to destroy them. It will require a period of time.”
“It will last more than several months, but we will win, and we will destroy them,” he said.
Sullivan's visit comes days after President Joe Biden said Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing." On Wednesday evening, Sullivan met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the other two members of Israel's War Cabinet in Tel Aviv.
Afterward, Netanyahu said he had "told our American friends ... we are more determined than ever to continue fighting until Hamas is eliminated — until complete victory.”
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday.
AP
Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Fire and smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Six weeks of fighting since then has seen hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee to southern Gaza, where they cram into shelters and take refuge with friends and family.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations, killing hundreds and taking captives. Palestinian health officials reported scores of deaths from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her son’s funeral at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Col. Roi Levy was killed after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns. Israel’s vaunted military and intelligence apparatus was caught completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades.
Hatem Moussa/AP
The rubble of the Sousi Mosque, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, is seen at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City early Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians rescue a young girl from the rubble of a destroyed residential building following an Israeli airstrike, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.
Mohammad Al Masri/AP
Palestinians evacuate wounded in Israeli aerial bombing on Jabaliya, near Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct.11, 2023.
Erik Marmor/AP
Israeli soldiers surround a Palestinian who ran at them with a knife at the site of a music festival near the border with the Gaza Strip Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.
Francisco Seco/AP
A woman lights candles in honor of victims of the Hamas attacks during a vigil at Dizengoff square in central Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. The writing reads: “Out of Words.”
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct.16, 2023.
Hassan Eslaiah/AP
Palestinians look for survivors in buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Deir el-Balah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.
Petros Giannakouris/AP
An Israeli woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas militants and supporters organized a protest Saturday calling for the return of more than 200 hostages held in Gaza for two weeks.
Abed Khaled/AP
A wounded Palestinian woman runs following Israeli airstrikes that targeted her neighborhood in Gaza City, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Palestinians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.
Omar El-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke and fire rise from buildings as people gather amid the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza City on October 26, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.
Omar El-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke and fire rise from buildings as rescuers gather amid the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza City on October 26, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.
Abed Khaled/AP
A man sits on the rubble as others wander among debris of buildings that were targeted by Israeli airstrikes in Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP
Palestinians with dual nationality register to cross to Egypt on the Gaza Strip side of the border crossing in Rafah on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
An Israeli artillery unit fires during a military drill in the annexed Golan Heights near the border with Lebanon on November 2, 2023. Lebanon’s southern border has seen tit-for-tat exchanges, mainly between Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Jonathan Ernst/AP
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sits onboard the plane during his visit to Israel as he departs en route to Jordan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Blinken is in Israel to press for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza.
Abed Khaled/AP
Palestinians strike the concrete while looking for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire caused by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Israeli army troops are seen next to a destroyed building during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian gunman runs past burning tires during confrontations with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on November 9, 2023.
Abed Khaled/AP
Fire and smoke rises from buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP
A Palestinian boy stands among the destruction after Israeli strikes on Rafah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
A man carries his daughter in a wheelbarrow through the flooded streets of a U.N. displacement camp after rainfall in the southern town of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
A relative tries to salvage some personal items from the home of the Palestinian Sheikh el-Eed family, a day after it was hit by Israeli bombardment killing the mother and two of her children, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian medics care for premature babies evacuated from Al Shifa hospital to the Emirates hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2023. A top health official in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said all 31 premature babies at Al-Shifa hospital had been evacuated on November 19 from the facility which the WHO has described as a “death zone”.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian woman reacts as people inspect the damage following Israeli strikes on Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, on November 20, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian man reacts after in an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 20, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers patrol on the top of the Mount Hermon near the border with Lebanon in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on November 20, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians stand next to a mural of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat amidst the debris following Israeli bombardment on Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Palestinians flee to northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as the four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war begins as part of an agreement that Qatar helped broker.
Leo Correa/AP
A group of Israelis celebrate as a helicopter carrying hostages released from the Gaza Strip lands at the helipad of the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, Sunday Nov. 26, 2023. The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners in a third set of releases under a four-day truce.
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images
A protester burns tires in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 27, 2023, ahead of an expected release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The Israeli government said on November 27, it had put Hamas “on notice” that an “option for an extension” of the truce in the Gaza Strip was open.
Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians evacuated from the Gaza Strip board a plane at Egypt’s El-Arish International Airport bound for Abu Dhabi early on November 27, 2023, as part of a humanitarian mission organised by the United Arab Emirates. Israel and Hamas announced a deal on November 22, allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian prisoners to be freed while offering besieged Gaza residents a four-day truce after weeks of all-out war.
Hatem Ali/AP
Palestinians line up for food in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, during a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
People sit around a camp fire in the midst of destroyed buildings in the Khezaa district on the outskirts of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, following weeks of Israeli bombardment, as a truce between Israel and Hamas entered its 7th day on November 30, 2023.
Nasser Nasser/AP
Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, center, is supported by her mother after she was released from prison by Israel, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, early Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. International mediators worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive.
Nasser Nasser/AP
A man smiles as he is welcomed after being released from prison by Israel, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, early Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive.
Sakchai Lalit/AP
Thai hostages who were freed from Hamas observe a minute of silence upon their arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Samut Prakarn Province, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. Twenty-three Thai hostages kidnapped by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel have been freed so far, and Thailand’s foreign ministry says nine remain in captivity in Gaza.
ARRESTS IN THE NORTH
The Palestinian telecommunications provider Paltel said Thursday that all communication services across Gaza were cut off due to ongoing fighting, severing the besieged territory from the outside world.
Heavy fighting has raged for days in areas around eastern Gaza City that were encircled earlier in the war. Tens of thousands of people remain in the north despite repeated evacuation orders, saying they don’t feel safe anywhere in Gaza or fear they may never be allowed to return to their homes if they leave.
The military released footage Thursday showing Israeli troops leading a line of dozens of men with their hands above their heads out of a damaged building it said was the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia. Men brought out four assault rifles and set them on the street along with several ammunition magazines.
In the video, a commander said militants had fired on troops from the hospital and that troops were evacuating those inside while detaining suspected militants. Earlier in the week, a Gaza Health Ministry official said weapons inside belong to the hospital’s guards. Neither side's claims could be independently verified.
Israeli troops have held the hospital since Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry and U.N. During that time, 70 medical workers and patients were detained, including the hospital director, they said.
Several thousand displaced people sheltering there were evacuated after the raid, and the remaining patients — including 12 children in intensive care — will be taken to Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the Health Ministry said.
Israel says it is rounding up men in northern Gaza as it searches for Hamas fighters, and recent videos have shown dozens of detained men stripped to their underwear, bound and blindfolded in the streets. Some released detainees have said they were beaten and denied food and water.
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has resisted international calls for a cease-fire.
A HEAVY CIVILIAN TOLL
Israel’s air and ground assault, launched in response to Hamas’ unprecedented attack into southern Israel on Oct. 7, has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Its latest count did not specify how many were women and minors, but they have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead in previous tallies. Thousands more are missing and feared dead beneath the rubble.
Multiple strikes hit Thursday in the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, residents reported. After an early morning strike in Rafah, an Associated Press reporter saw 27 bodies brought into a local hospital Thursday.
One woman burst into tears after recognizing the body of her child.
“They were young people, children, displaced, all sitting at home,” Mervat Ashour said. “There were no resistance fighters, rockets or anything.”
New evacuation orders issued as troops pushed into Khan Younis earlier this month have pushed U.N.-run shelters to the breaking point and forced people to set up tent camps in even less hospitable areas. Heavy rain and cold in recent days have compounded their misery, swamping tents and forcing families to crowd around fires to keep warm.
Israel has sealed Gaza off to all but a trickle of humanitarian aid, and U.N. agencies have struggled to distribute it since the offensive expanded to the south because of fighting and road closures.
RISING SUPPORT FOR HAMAS
Israel might have hoped that the war and its hardships would turn Palestinians against Hamas, hastening its demise. But a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found 44% of respondents in the occupied West Bank said they supported Hamas, up from 12% in September. In Gaza, the militants enjoyed 42% support, up from 38% three months ago.
That’s still a minority in both territories. But even many Palestinians who do not share Hamas’ commitment to destroying Israel and oppose its attacks on civilians see it as resisting Israel’s decades-old occupation of lands they want for a future state.
Israelis, meanwhile, remain strongly supportive of the war and see it as necessary to prevent a repeat of Oct. 7, when Palestinian militants attacked communities across southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking some 240 hostage. A total of 116 soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive, which began Oct. 27.
Around half the hostages, mostly women and children, were released last month during a weeklong cease-fire in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
