A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on Dec. 18, 2023, shows Israeli soldiers watching smoke rising over the Palestinian territory following Israeli bombardment. (Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP)
TEL AVIV — Israel will gradually transition to the next phase of its operations in Gaza in which the local population would likely be able to first return to the north of the coastal strip, the country's defense minister claimed on Monday.
"I can tell you that soon we will be able to distinguish between different areas in Gaza," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a joint news conference with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Tel Aviv.
"In every area where we achieve our mission we will be able to transition gradually to the next phase and start working on bringing back the local population," Gallant said. "That means that it can be achieved maybe sooner in the north rather than in the south."
Throughout the war, which is in its third month, the Israel army claimed to provide "safe zones" and "safe passage" for civilians in the besieged strip, but several reports revealed Israeli bombardment of those areas killing Palestinians who appeared to be adhering to the military's orders.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he was not in Israel to dictate any timeline or terms for Israel's military campaign, but he did discuss making the transition to lower intensity operations.
"That doesn't signal an end to the operation. It sometimes means that you're being more precise, you're being more focused on a specific target set," he said.
At the outset of the war, the Israeli army's stated goal was to eliminate Hamas. Since their operations began, 19,453 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry there. According to statements from the Israeli military earlier this month, it estimates to have killed up to 5,000 Hamas fighters out of a total of 30,000 in Hamas’ armed wing.
transition to the next phase of its operations in Gaza in which
the local population would likely be able to first return to the
north of the coastal strip, the country's defense minister claimed
on Monday."I can tell you that soon we will be able to distinguish
between different areas in Gaza," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
said in a joint news conference with his US counterpart Lloyd
Austin in Tel Aviv."In every area where we achieve our mission we will be able
to transition gradually to the next phase and start working on
bringing back the local population," Gallant said. "That means
that it can be achieved maybe sooner in the north rather than in
the south."Throughout the war, which is in its third month, the Israel army claimed to provide "safe zones" and "safe passage" for civilians in...
