“Now the focus is on dismantling Hamas in the centre of the Gaza Strip and in the south of the Gaza Strip,” he said, while acknowledging that the task will take time.

About military efforts to dismantle Hamas in the central and southern Gaza Strip, Hagari said “we will do it in a different way” without elaborating.

According to him, the refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip are crowded and full of terrorists, while in the south, the large urban landscape of Khan Yunis has an elaborate underground network of tunnels. “It takes time,” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government had directed the army to “eliminate Hamas”, return all the hostages and ensure that Gaza will “never again be a threat to Israel”. The war must not be stopped until we achieve all of the goals,” he said in a statement.