Sydney
\nIsrael will not conduct a ground operation in Gaza if Hamas surrenders \u201cunconditionally\u201d and frees all its hostages, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus has said.
\nIf the looming offensive goes ahead, however, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimates that it could take up to three months.
\nIn an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday, Conricus dodged a question as to why Israel appears to be delaying its ground operation. Instead, the spokesman simply vowed that the Israeli military would \u201cdismantle Hamas totally\u201d and \u201cbring our people home.\u201d
\nHe explained that Israel would prefer to rely on airstrikes and avoid exposing its troops to danger unnecessarily. He suggested, however, that such an approach may prove insufficient to root out the militant group.
\n\u201cIf Hamas were to come out of their hiding places that they hide underneath the civilians \u2026 and return our hostages, all 212 of them, and surrender unconditionally, then the war would end,\u201d Conricus stated.
\nHe concluded that, if the Palestinian militants fail to comply with these conditions, \u201cwe will probably have to go in and get it done.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, speaking at the Israeli Air Force\u2019s headquarters in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant insisted that \u201cthis needs to be the last [ground] maneuver in Gaza, for the simple reason that afterwards there will be no Hamas,\u201d as quoted by several Israeli media outlets. He went on to suggest that the offensive might take up to three months.
\nSince the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, Israel has called up some 360,000 reservists and amassed considerable forces around Gaza. Its air force has also been pummeling the densely populated enclave with massive strikes. However, a final order to enter Gaza has yet to be issued.
\nOn Friday, US President Joe Biden appeared to confirm that he was urging Israel to delay sending troops into Gaza. However, less than an hour later, White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt claimed the president had misheard the question, and was not attempting to influence Israel\u2019s decision-making.
\nIt came as Bloomberg reported that same day that the US government and some European allies were pushing Israel to postpone its ground attack on Gaza in order to negotiate the release of more hostages held by Hamas.
\nAccording to officials on both sides, the latest escalation has left at least 1,400 Israelis and 5,000 Palestinians dead, with thousands more injured.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sydney Israel will not conduct a ground operation in Gaza if Hamas surrenders \u201cunconditionally\u201d and frees all its hostages, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus has said. If the looming offensive goes ahead, however, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimates that it could take up to three months. In an interview with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-363475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n