We will destroy Hamas, says PM
War ‘has months to run’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war against Hamas will last “many months”, as he renewed his pledge to completely eliminate the Palestinian terrorist group from strife-torn Gaza.
Vowing to bring home all Israelis still held hostage in Gaza, Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday the military was involved in a “complex fight” and needed time to achieve its goals.
“The war will continue for many months until Hamas is eliminated and the hostages are returned,” he said.
“We will guarantee that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said, adding that about 8000 militants had already been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian territory.
“Step by step we are depriving Hamas of their capabilities. We will also eliminate the leaders,” Mr Netanyahu said.
It came as an Israeli strike killed a Hamas armed wing commander who was a righthand man to Hamas’s chief bombmaker decades ago, according to the Palestinian Shehab news outlet.
Abdul Fattah Amin Maali was a close associate of Yahya Ayyash, one of the founders of the terror group’s armed wing, The Times of Israel reported.
In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah said a strike on the southern Lebanon border town of Bint Jbeil killed one of its fighters, naming him as Ali Ahmed Saad.
US news outlet Axios and Israeli website Ynet, both citing unnamed Israeli officials, reported that Qatari mediators had told Israel that Hamas was prepared to resume talks on new hostage releases in exchange for a ceasefire.
When asked if a new deal for hostage releases was being negotiated, Mr Netanyahu said Hamas had been “giving all kinds of ultimatums that we didn’t accept”.
“We are seeing a certain shift (but) I don’t want to create an expectation,” he said without elaborating further.
A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian plan for renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to the militant group said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv, demanding that the government secure the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
“Bring them home now,” the demonstrators chanted.
“The scariest thing in Gaza was to be forgotten,” said Moran Stela Yanai, one of the hostages released during last month’s truce. “The most humane thing that can be done … is to bring everyone back,” she said.
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after Hamas fighters carried out a deadly attack on Israel on October 7 that killed about 1140 people.
International mediators, who last month helped free more than 100 hostages, continue in their efforts to secure a new pause in the fighting.