Israel-Gaza live updates: Hamas suspect detained on festival grounds

The Israel Defense Forces will fight this war “as long as it takes,” spokesperson Lt. Col. Res. Jonathan Conricus told ABC News in an interview on Monday.

“The goal that we have been given so far by the Israeli government is to make sure that Hamas doesn’t have any military capabilities that they can use to threaten or murder Israeli citizens. That means to eradicate their ability to terrorize Israelis,” Conricus said.

“That’s what we’ve been tasked to do so far — that may change, expand, and include political things as well as in their ability to govern, but as of now, what we’re focusing on with the aerial strikes that are ongoing and the preparations of the other troops around the Gaza Strip is to strip Hamas of all of their military capabilities,” he added.

A fireball erupts from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.

The IDF is looking at “difficult and hard passes ahead,” but Saturday’s attack by Hamas fighters was a “watershed moment” that has fundamentally changed how the IDF responds, according to Conricus.

“Bottom line, what was true and perhaps worked for years before, won’t cut the situation now and we are moving forward,” he said.

In addition, 300,000 IDF reservists who were called up are “now in southern Israel,” according to Conricus.

“We have mobilized our troops before — the second Lebanon war comes to mind,” he added. “But this is definitely very, very significant.”

-ABC News’ Matt Gutman, Ellie Kaufman and Becky Perlow