Israel's war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip will last "for many more months," Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday.
The war "will continue for many more months, and we will work with different methods so that our achievements are preserved for a long time", Halevi said at a televised press conference, according to AFP.
"There are no magic solutions, there are no shortcuts when it comes to thoroughly dismantling a terrorist organisation except being stubborn and determined in the fighting."
Halevi said the army was concentrating its efforts in the south of the Gaza Strip, adding that many "terrorists have been eliminated and hundreds have been taken captive".
So far, Israel's relentless assault has killed more than 19,450 Gazans, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Israel began its devastating air and ground offensive following the October 7 Hamas attacks, which killed around 1,140 people in southern Israel, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
