TEL AVIV, December 26. /TASS/. The war in the Gaza Strip will last for "many more months," Chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) General Staff Herzi Halevi said.

"It is taking place in a complex area. Therefore, the war will continue for many more months, and we will operate in various ways - so that the achievement will be preserved over time," Herzi Halevi, whose remarks were released by the army press office, said. "Currently, we are concentrating our efforts in the southern Gaza Strip - Khan Yunis, the central camps, and further. We will continue to both preserve and intensify our achievements in northern Gaza," he added.

"There are no magic solutions or shortcuts in the fundamental dismantling of a terrorist organization [Hamas], except persistent and determined fighting, and we [Israel] are very, very determined," Halevi continued.

"We [the IDF] will also get to the Hamas leadership, whether it takes a week or months," the Chief of General Staff said, noting that the Israeli military is "constantly learning and changing <…> way of warfare." The IDF is using its "resources in a professional, sophisticated, and calculated way" and is "prepared for the continuation of the fighting in all sectors," Halevi added.