Jerusalem:
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said the war against Hamas in Gaza will end after Israel achieves its goals, The Times of Israel reported. He said Hamas's Jabaliya and Shejaiya battalions in the northern Gaza Strip are about to be dismantled.
While addressing a press conference, Gallant said: “The war will end when its objectives are achieved. I take into account everything the US asks and says, and, along with all members of the Cabinet, take seriously what America does. “
He further said, “We will find a way to help the Americans help us.”
Asked about a possible new hostage deal with Hamas, Gallant stated that he believes there will be more offers for hostage deals as Israel increases military pressure, The Times of Israel reported.
He said: “I believe that if we increase military pressure, there will be offers for more hostage deals, and if there are offers, we will consider them.”
Gallant said Israeli forces have surrounded the last Hamas strongholds in Jabaliya and Shejaiya. He stated that hundreds of Hamas operatives have surrendered to Israeli forces in recent days, which he said “shows what is happening” with the terror group.
He said: “We have surrounded the last Hamas strongholds in Jabaliya and Shejaiya. The battalions that were considered invincible and that have been preparing to fight us for years are about to be dismantled.”
Gallant said: “Whoever surrenders, his life will be spared,” adding that among those arrested by the IDF are terrorists who took part in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israeli communities. He added: “They tell us very interesting things.”
He even warned the head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, saying that his fate and that of “every other senior commander in Hamas, and the fate of the [low-ranking] terrorist is the same: surrender or die. There is no third option,” The Times of Israel report said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military and Shin Bet announced that they have arrested more than 500 terror operatives in the Gaza Strip in the past month. Unit 504 of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate and the Security Service took these terror operatives in for questioning.
More than 140 of the officers have been arrested since the ceasefire ended on December 1, according to the joint statement. The IDF said: “The officers were detained by IDF forces during fighting in recent days. Some of them voluntarily surrendered and were taken away by the field interrogators… for further investigation.”
The IDF said some officers were arrested while hiding in civilian buildings, including schools and civilian shelters, The Times of Israel reported.
Earlier on Monday, the IDF announced the deaths of another seven soldiers, bringing the death toll of troops killed in Israel's ground offensive against Hamas to 104. Six of these deceased soldiers were killed on Sunday during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip.
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