Israel says war in Gaza expected to continue throughout 2024
The Israeli military has said it expects the conflict in Gaza to continue throughout 2024, BBC reports.
In a new year's message, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said troop deployments were being adjusted to prepare for "prolonged fighting".
Daniel Hagari said some troops - especially reservists - would be withdrawn to allow them to regroup.
"These adaptations are intended to ensure the planning and preparation for continuing the war in 2024," he said.
"The IDF must plan ahead out of an understanding that there will be additional missions and the fighting will continue the rest of the year."
He said that some reservists would leave Gaza "as soon as this week" to allow them to "re-energise ahead of the coming operations".
Some 21,978 people - mostly women and children - have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Its latest update said 56,697 people in Gaza had been wounded over the same period.
The figures included 156 people killed and 246 injured in the last 24 hours, the ministry added.
The latest war was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which 1,200 people were killed - most of them civilians - and about 240 others taken hostage.
