All-out war

Posted by Lewis June 16, 2003In reply to All-out war posted by Word Camel on June 13, 2003

hello,
what exactly does this phrase mean in this sentence? "...as isreal and islamic group hamas declared all-out war". thank you.

It means that Israel and Hamas have dropped any pretense of not being at war with one another and have made it clear that they will stop at nothing (this is what it means by "all out war) to win.

wWhat it means is that non-combatants on both sides will continue to die, but probably at a greater rate.