Israel said to believe IDF needs 3-4 weeks to complete operations in Khan Younis

The military needs another 3-4 weeks to complete the military offensive in Khan Younis and a similar amount of time after that to wrap up the first stage of the war in Gaza against Hamas, the Walla news site reports.

Citing a senior Israeli official, the report says the US has not given Israel a hard deadline but notes Washington has told Jerusalem that time is running out. The official adds that the sides disagree by a month on how long the war should continue, without further specifying.

According to the official, the Bide administration would be happy for the IDF to finish intensive operations by the end of the month but Israel believes it needs until the end of January.

“The American message is that they would like to see us finish the fighting sooner, with less harm to Palestinian civilians and more humanitarian assistance for Gaza. We would also like this to happen, but the enemy does not always agree,” the official is quoted as saying.

“The Americans understand this and we are working together. We need them and they need us,” the official adds.