TEL AVIV, November 1. /TASS/. Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip will be difficult, with fierce battles expected, the country’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said.

"This is a difficult campaign that entails fierce combat. There is no combat without a painful price. We are a people that fights amidst the pain. We are determined - despite the pain - to win," he told reporters.

He went on to say that the operational goal that was defined for the Israel Defense Forces was unequivocal - "to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad so that there will no longer be a threat to the citizens of Israel from the Gaza Strip."

"Since this decision was made, the IDF has been carrying out its missions with force and thoroughness in several stages," the security official continued. "The first stage - blocking and clearing terrorists from the south - is behind us. The second stage began immediately afterward. This is the stage of powerful and precise strikes against all enemy networks including a high-quality intelligence base, from land, sea and air. The stage being currently carried out is that of ground activity being conducted in the northern Gaza Strip."

He added that "the additional supreme goal," of the IDF was "to create the conditions for bringing the hostages back to their homes and their families."

"As was revealed yesterday, the military effort serves both the effort to bring back the hostages as well as the aspiration to destroy the enemy's military and governing capabilities," Hanegbi said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.

On October 27, the IDF’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, announced the expansion of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.