Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the ground invasion of Gaza is “close” and that the world should prepare for a lengthy battle to eradicate Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
“It’s not a question of weeks, but a question of months,” Gallant told Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Friday.
Israel has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border with Gaza and launched several small-scale ground incursions to hit terrorist targets. But a full-scale invasion to eradicate Hamas, promised after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in which 1,400 Israelis were brutally murdered, has so far not come to fruition.
Gallant said he cannot give a precise date for the start of the operation, but plans are underway for the Israelis to enter Gaza and destroy Hamas and its governing capabilities.
The army’s mission is to return some 229 hostages to their families, secure Israel’s southern area, and deter Israel’s adversaries in the region from joining the war. “I’m the son of Holocaust survivors,” Gallant said. “I’m not going to let it happen again.”
