Israel Defence Forces announce when war with Hamas could end

A ground operation in the Gaza Strip will be cancelled if Hamas releases all hostages and surrenders implicitly, Jonathan Conricus, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) International Spokesperson, has said.

Source: Conricus in an interview with Australian radio ABC

Quote from the spokesman: "If Hamas were to come out of their hiding places that they hide underneath the Israeli civilians, which is what they're doing now, return our hostages — all 212 of them — and surrender unconditionally, then the war would end

If they won't, we will probably have to go in and get it done."

Details: Lieutenant Colonel Conricus did not answer why the ground invasion was postponed, despite many days of talk about it, saying instead that Israeli troops "will eliminate Hamas."

He added that people "should take sides... according to your morals."

"If you want to be on the side of the terrorists or the side of Israel, that is your choice," the IDF spokesman said.

He also answered questions about the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza, noting that he does not believe Israel should be forced to provide food to the enemy, who "launches missiles at our citizens and tries to kill them."  

Background:

• On 21 October, Herzi Halevi, the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces, said that the IDF military would start an operation to eliminate Hamas.
• On the evening of 21 October, the first 20 trucks with humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt.
• Embassies have asked their citizens in Gaza to be ready to cross the border. Still, crowds of disillusioned Palestinians with American, Canadian, German and UK passports have waited in vain for hours, at least for the fifth time this week.
• The Israeli military said on the night of 22 October that a "preventive strike" was launched through an underground complex on the territory of the Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin on the West Bank of the Jordan River.
• The Israel Defence Forces later stated that it is continuing to strike Hezbollah cells and Hamas targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

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