Netanyahu says war against Hamas set to continue into 2025 — TV report:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told local council chiefs from communities near Gaza on Tuesday that he anticipates the war against Hamas extending into 2025.

According to an unsourced Channel 12 report on the meeting, which was held at the IDF’s southern command headquarters in Beersheba and attended by other security cabinet ministers, Netanyahu told the council chiefs that, according to the current assessment, the war may continue into next year.

He disclosed the assessment in the course of a discussion in which he also reportedly agreed to revise a current Defense Ministry framework that provides financial assistance to Israeli residents who are prepared to return to evacuated communities 4-7 kilometers from the Gaza border areas.

Many of these communities were ravaged by the October 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 240 hostages of all ages. The attacks were carried out amid brutal atrocities that included mutilation, torture, rape, sexual assault and the setting alight of people, corpses, and homes.

The local council chiefs told Netanyahu that most of their residents do not wish to return at this point, because of ongoing rocket fire from Gaza and other security concerns, the TV report said. They called for the process of returning to be delayed or extended until the summer and the start of the new school year, and for the state to continue to fund their stay in temporary accommodation until then.

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