The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has characterized the ongoing conflict as a “grave crime” against his people.
Israel’s army chief, Herzi Halevi, stated that the conflict with Hamas is expected to continue for “many more months.”
On Tuesday, Israel reported striking over 100 sites, and there have been reports suggesting the possibility of impending ground operations in central Gaza.
During the early hours of Wednesday, loud explosions were audible from the Gaza Strip, reaching across the perimeter into Israel.
In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medical sources have reported that six Palestinians were killed in an overnight Israeli drone strike in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, an additional 382 people were reported injured during the same 24-hour period.
The ministry reported that, over the course of more than 11 weeks of fighting, at least 20,915 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, have lost their lives.
The conflict began on October 7 after a series of deadly attacks by Hamas on communities within Israel. Approximately 1,200 people, primarily civilians, lost their lives. About 240 individuals were taken to Gaza as hostages, and some of them were subsequently released.
President Abbas has characterized the conflict in the Gaza Strip as “beyond a catastrophe” and “beyond a war of annihilation.”
In his first interview since the war began, President Abbas declared the conflict unprecedented in the history of the Palestinian people. Speaking in Ramallah to an Egyptian TV channel, he expressed that the Gaza territory had become unrecognizable and issued a warning that the occupied West Bank could potentially face implosion at any time.
The Palestinian leader accused Washington of prolonging the war by exercising its veto power on UN draft resolutions that called for a ceasefire.
Lt Gen Halevi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), stated in a news conference that the war would “continue for many more months” to secure and maintain Israel’s “achievements for a long time.”
“There are no shortcuts when it comes to thoroughly dismantling a terrorist organization except being stubborn and determined in the fighting,” he said. “There are no magic solutions.”
Acknowledging the complexity of the terrain, the general vowed to arrest or eliminate the Hamas leadership, expressing determination even if it took time. He added that the IDF was close to dismantling all the Hamas battalions in northern Gaza.
As per reports, the plan would involve the gradual release of all Israeli hostages and an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The culmination of this process would result in the suspension of Israel’s offensive.
In a prior temporary truce brokered by Qatar, numerous hostages were released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Presently, both Israel and Hamas have resisted appeals for a lasting ceasefire.
