Israel army chief on Gaza war amid regional tensions: 'Will last many more…'

Israel-Hamas War: "We will reach Hamas' leadership," he asserted as the Israel-Hamas war saw regional tensions spike.

Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza will likely go on for many months, the country's military chief Herzi Halevi said. "There are no short cuts in dismantling a terrorist organization," he said in a televised statement on the Gaza border.

Israel-Hamas War: Smoke billows over the southern Lebanese village of Meiss El-Jabbal near the border with Israel. (AFP)

"We will reach Hamas' leadership," he asserted as the Israel-Hamas war saw regional tensions spike with explosions reported off the coasts of Egypt and Yemen, US strikes in Iraq and strikes from Lebanon as well. The tensions soar following Hamas' unprecedented attack against Israel from Gaza on October 7 which killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians. Hamas also took around 250 hostages, of whom 105 have been released and several killed. In retaliation, Israel led a relentless air and ground offensive that has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and killed at least 20,915 people, mostly women and children.

“There are no magic solutions, there are no short cuts in dismantling a terrorist organization, only determined and persistent fighting. We will reach Hamas' leadership too, whether it takes a week or if it takes months,” he said, adding, "We said from its first moments that this would be a long war because it was right to set far-reaching goals and we will reach far, that's why the duration will be long."

The duration will allow the military to adapt its methods and "ultimately, will we be able to say that there is no enemy surrounding the state of Israel? I think that's too ambitious, but we will create a new security situation," he asserted.

Here are top updates from Israel-Hamas war:

1. Israeli forces bombarded Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza and issued orders telling residents to evacuate.
2. The Israeli military may expand its ground offensive into another part of the besieged territory, the orders portend.
3. Gaza's main telecom provider, Paltel, announced another “complete interruption” of services.
4. Amid international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the fight “isn’t close to finished.”
5. The UN human rights office said that Israel had ordered some residents to move to the area.
6. “We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of Middle Gaza by Israeli forces, which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve,” it said.
7. Israel said that it would no longer grant automatic visas to UN employees while accusing the world body of being “complicit partners” in Hamas’ tactics.
8. Israel defense minister Yoav Gallant said that the country faces a “multi-arena war” from seven different fronts — Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran.
9. “We have responded and acted already on six of these,” he said.