Israeli efforts to rehabilitate southern communities ravaged by the October 7 Hamas onslaught will take years and go beyond a planned ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet said on Thursday.

“The battle against Gazan terror will continue within the strip’s territory - going deep, anywhere and at any time required to ensure security for the communities that will be restored and will rebuild the region,” he said in a speech.

“The (ground) maneuver will be but one stage of a long process that will include defensive, diplomatic and social aspects that will take years.”

“The danger of destruction will not be our destiny, but rather, the fate of those who would do evil to us,” Gantz said.