Israel-Palestine conflict: Fight in Gaza will take 'several months'

'Several months' to defeat Hamas — Israeli Defense Minister

On Thursday, 14 December Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said it would take several months to defeat Hamas in Gaza.

Gallant said Hamas had been building "infrastructure under the ground and above the ground" and in order to defeat the group "it will require a long period of time — it will last more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them."

Gallant made the comments during a visit by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday.

Sullivan is in Israel to discuss the need for strikes to be more precise amid mounting condemnation over the civilian death toll.

Earlier the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said that 18,787 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The health officials territory do not provide figures as to how many Hamas fighters are among the dead, but say the majority of people killed in Israeli strikes have been women and children.

Death toll now at 18,787 — Gazan health officials

Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Thursday, 14 December that at least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, the majority of them women and children.

Although there is a debate over the breakdown between civilian and combatant deaths, UN agencies and other international institutions believe that the overall death toll is broadly accurate.

Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said 50,897 people had been wounded in Israeli strikes.

Israel launched attacks on Hamas targets after the militant Islamist group launched a large-scale terror attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people.

Since then, Israel has expanded military efforts to include the whole of the Gaza Strip.

According to the United Nations, there are no safe places for the people of Gaza.

'Largest displacement of the Palestinian people' since 1948 war — UNRWA

As Israel continues its offensive against Hamas, the UN Relief and Works Agency UNRWA says the majority of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced.

UNRWA Director for Communications Juliette Touma told DW they observing "forced displacement" of Gazans.

"What we've been seeing since the war began is a pattern of forced displacement of the Palestinian population in Gaza," Touma said.

"This is the largest displacement of the Palestinian people since the 1948 war."

The 1948 war, known as the First Arab-Israeli War, started the day after Israel announced its establishment as a state, when it was attacked by Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese and Syrian forces. In the course of the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes

In the current conflict, Israel's military says it is giving advanced warning to Palestinians to move to safer areas before attacking Hamas targets.

Israel has also accused Hamas, classified by multiple countries as a terrorist organization, of hiding behind civilian infrastructure such as mosques and schools. It says because of that, the group is responsible for putting Gazans at risk.

Touma told DW that the UN agency was no longer able to fulfil its mandate in the territory.

"We are challenged and our hands are tied. We have so many restrictions imposed on us," Touma said and spoke of the "very little aid" the agency was allowed to bring in and limited access it had within Gaza.

UK bans entry for violent settlers

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians would not be able to enter the UK.

"Extremist settlers, by targeting and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians," Cameron said on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Israel must take stronger action to stop settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. We are banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK to make sure our country cannot be a home for people who commit these intimidating acts."

Earlier this week, the EU's foreign policy chief said the bloc could draw up proposals to sanction settlers perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Israel announces pause in Rafah military operations

Israel has announced that it would be implementing "tactical pauses" in Rafah to help civilians with humanitarian aid.

"The IDF is enabling tactical pauses for humanitarian purposes to allow civilians to replenish stocks such as food and water. Today, (Dec.14), the pause is taking place in the Al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah, from 10:00 to 14:00," COGAT, the Israeli government agency that handles Palestinian civil affairs, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.