Israeli Military Ready to Continue War in 2024 when Death Toll in Gaza Reaches 21,978 People

JAAKRTA - The Israeli military is ready to continue the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip region in 2024, even though the death toll in the Palestinian enclave continues to increase.

In a New Year's message, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the troop deployment was being adjusted to prepare for "prolonged fighting".

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said some troops, especially reserve troops, would be withdrawn so they could re-group.

"This adaptation is intended to ensure planning and preparation for continuing the war in 2024," said Admiral Hagari, reported by the BBC, January 2.

"The IDF must plan ahead based on the understanding that there will be additional missions and fighting will continue for the rest of the year," he said.

He further said that some reserve troops would leave Gaza "as soon as this week" to allow them to "recharge ahead of upcoming operations".

Israel continued to bombard Gaza until the end of the dark year in the region, after previously completely blockading it and carrying out ground operations in the area.

The IDF said it killed a senior Hamas commander involved in the October 7 attack, Adil Mismah, in an overnight raid in the city of Deir al-Balah.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that at least 48 people were killed in overnight bombings in Gaza City. Witnesses told the AFP news agency that another attack killed 20 people taking shelter at Al-Aqsa University in the west of the city.

Another attack on Monday morning was said to have killed at least 10 people in the al-Maghazi refugee camp.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Gaza region has so far reached around 21,978 people, mostly women and children, since the conflict broke out on October 7, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The latest report also states that 56,697 people in Gaza were injured in the same period.

The toll includes 156 people killed and 246 people injured in the last 24 hours, the ministry added.

It is known that the latest conflict was sparked by an unprecedented cross-border attack by the Hamas armed group in southern Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 240 hostages.

Separately, the UN says around 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million population, nearly two million people, have now fled.

Meanwhile, thousands of doses of vaccines for childhood diseases, including polio and measles, have been sent to Gaza, to help tackle the growing health emergency, Reuters reported.

The news agency quoted the Palestinian Health Ministry as saying supplies estimated to last up to 14 months of vaccinations had entered through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Speaking from Rafah, Ayadil Saparbekov from the World Health Organization (WHO) told the BBC that vaccines were vital because of the living conditions of Gazans.

"Thousands of people live together in overcrowded camps with very poor water conditions, poor hygiene and very poor sanitation, all of which are breeding grounds for various diseases," he explained.