JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israeli military says it’s expanded its operation in southern Gaza, and U.S officials say the bulk of the fighting may be over by January.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi says a new phase of the military campaign has begun.
“In the last few days, we have moved to the third phase of the ground operations.” Halevi explained. ” We have secured many Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip, and now we are operating against its strongholds in the south.”
Israeli forces are fighting now in Khan Younis, the capital of Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip. The Biden administration reportedly expects the current phase to be over by January, but officials warn Israel the window of time they have to continue the operation is closing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again emphasized that Gaza must be demilitarized after the war, and only the IDF can be trusted to do it.
“In order for Gaza to be demilitarized, there is only one force that can enforce that demilitarization. That force is the Israeli military. No international force can be responsible for this,” Netanyahu insisted. “We’ve seen what happens in other places when international forces were brought for the
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