Austin: I’m not dictating timelines or terms; Gallant: Israel won’t control Gaza in any civilian way

Answering questions at their joint press conference, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are asked about the timeline and any deadlines for the Gaza war.

Says Austin: “Regarding timetable, this is Israel’s operation and I’m not here to dictate timelines or terms.”

“It’s critical,” Austin says, “that Hamas not be able to threaten Israel from Gaza, or even threaten Gaza anymore.”

He says they had “great discussions about the status of the campaign,” including on goals and objectives, on reducing “harm to civilians in the battle space” and on “the need to maintain a sustained flow of humanitarian assistance.”

He adds, “We also have some great thoughts about how to transition from high-intensity operations to low-intensity and more surgical operations.”

Gallant says “the war will take time” and “eventually we will reach our goals” — to destroy Hamas and “rescue the hostages.”

He praises “international support to establish something different in Gaza.”

This was discussed today with Austin and other key US officials, he says. “We know that Hamas will not control Gaza. We know that we will have the freedom to eliminate any kind of threat in the future. And that there will be no serious military threats against Israel from Gaza.”

He adds: “Israel will not control Gaza in any civilian way. We will conduct any needed operational and military effort in order to secure our future. And we are building the routes for non-hostile partners in the other side.”

On Lebanon, Austin says the US does not want to see a wider war or a regional war and urges Hezbollah not to provoke a wider conflict.

Where Lebanon is concerned, says Gallant, “diplomacy is the preferred way” and Israel is not looking for war. “But Hezbollah is shooting us every day since October 8… We hope Hezbollah will understand that it’s time to stop.”