Israeli Official Says Gaza Slaughter Will Continue for at Least Another 7 Months

The head of Israel's National Security Council says Israel will capture all of Gaza's border with Egypt

Tzachi Hanegbi, head of the Israeli National Security Council, said Wednesday that he expects Israeli military operations in Gaza to continue for at least another seven months into early 2025.

“We expect another seven months of fighting in order to deepen the accomplishments and achieve what we have defined as ‘the destruction of the governmental and military capabilities of Hamas,'” Hanegbi said.

According to the latest numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 36,171 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war, and the Palestinian Red Crescent estimates over 15,000 children have been killed. June 7 will mark eight months since Israel unleashed its campaign after the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Many more Palestinians could die of starvation and disease caused by the Israeli siege, as barely any aid has entered Gaza since Israel captured the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border on May 7. Hanegbi said that Israel currently controls 75% of the border between Egypt and Gaza, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

“Inside Gaza, the IDF is now in control of 75% of the Philadelphi Route and I believe it will be in control of it all with time. Together with the Egyptians, we must ensure weapon smuggling is prevented,” Hanegbi said.

Later in the day, the Israeli military announced that it had achieved “tactical control” of the Philadelphi Corridor.

Israel’s control of the Philadelphi Corridor is technically a violation of the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, which was signed following the 1978 Camp David Accords. On Monday, Israeli gunfire killed at least two Egyptian soldiers, risking a major escalation, although Cairo has been quiet about the incident.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.