Minister of Defense Gallant Says Israel Will Gradually Transition Operations in Gaza

The Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Israel will gradually transition to the next phase of operations in Gaza, the country's defense minister said on Monday after talks with United States Defense Minister Lloyd Austin.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said local residents would likely be able to return to northern Gaza, which was the most populous region in the Mediterranean before war broke out between Hamas and Israel following the October 7 attack.

Neither Defense Secretary Austin nor his counterpart Gallant gave a timeline for carrying out what Austin called a "more tactical" operation.

"Soon we will be able to differentiate between the various areas in Gaza," Gallant said at a joint press conference in Tel Aviv, reported by Reuters, December 19.

Most residents of northern Gaza followed Israeli instructions to flee to the south, where the military asked residents to continue moving amid airstrikes and incessant firefights with the Islamist group's fighters.

"In each region where we achieve our mission, we will be able to gradually transition to the next phase and begin working to bring back local residents," Gallant said.

"This means that this may be achieved more quickly in the northern region than in the southern region," he stressed.

It is known that Defense Minister Gallant met with Defense Minister Austin to hold discussions regarding lower intensity combat, as well as ways to reduce losses to civilians.

International pressure for a ceasefire has mounted on Israel, due to the loss of more than 19,000 civilian casualties as a result of a massive bombing campaign and ground war aimed at destroying Hamas.

Although the United States provides Israel with weapons and diplomatic support and rejects calls for a ceasefire, Washington has recently hardened its stance toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Last week, US President Joe Biden said Israel risked losing international support because of what he called "indiscriminate" bombing.

Nevertheless, Defense Secretary Austin offered assurances in yesterday's meeting, saying: "American support for Israel's security is unwavering. Israel is not alone."

It is known that a series of US officials have called on Israel to focus its strategy on intelligence-driven attacks on the Hamas leadership.

"It doesn't signal the end of operations. Sometimes this means you have to be more precise, you have to be more focused on a particular target," explained Defense Minister Austin.

Israel itself says the thousands of tons of bombs dropped on Gaza since October 7 were aimed at militarily relevant targets.