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Israel seeking to eliminate Palestinian groups besides Hamas — army spokesperson

"It’s not only Hamas, we intend for there to be no existent military structure capable of threatening Israelis," Jonathan Conricus said

TEL AVIV, December 5. /TASS/. Israel’s military operations are not limited to Hamas as it intends to eliminate all military infrastructure that could threaten its people, army spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said at a briefing.

"Our intention is for there to be no military infrastructure in Gaza that has the ability to threaten Israeli civilians; and that includes Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and then, there are a few others, smaller and even more extreme terror organizations that exist: the Resistance Committees, the Palestinian Liberation Front and a few others," he noted.

"It’s not only Hamas; and we intend for there to be no existent military structure capable of threatening Israelis. The target, of course, and the big center of gravity is Hamas but our operations are not limited to them. We have been engaged with and eliminated Islamic Jihad operatives and commandos since October 7 quite successfully," Conricus added.

"We intend to continue to do so until they are defeated and again, until we achieve the aim, getting our hostages back, 137 of them, and defeating any military threats that exist and making sure that they won’t have the ability to regroup after the fighting is done," he concluded.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.