Netanyahu chastises ministers who warn of war with Gaza

Galant warns Sinwar’s days are numbered • Erdan: Israel may have to retake Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged security cabinet ministers to keep their talk about Gaza vague, after they gave hawkish speeches at the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said Israel is “closer than ever” to capturing Gaza.

“Just as we are moving from defense to offense in the fight against BDS, we must move from defense to offense also in the fight against Hamas in Gaza... which means going back to targeted killings of the terrorist leaders of Hamas’s military wing, and it also means being willing to capture and hold the Gaza Strip until we dismantle the terrorist infrastructure,” he said.

“Because, unfortunately, today we are closer than ever to doing this since the disastrous disengagement plan – being forced to recapture parts or all the Gaza Strip,” Erdan continued. “If that is the only way we can guarantee long-term quiet and security for our citizens, then that is what we will do.”

Housing Minister Yoav Gallant, a retired IDF major-general, said Israel is ready for a large-scale operation in Gaza if necessary, and that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar.

“Let me say it to be clear: Yehya Sinwar’s time is limited. He won’t finish his life in an old age home,” Gallant said.

According to the former general, Hamas is at a “very dramatic junction,” where it has to recalculate whether it wants to fight Israel or keep the calm of the past week.

Gallant expressed certainty that “there will be another large campaign in Gaza,” but that Israel will determine when and how it will happen,

not Hamas.

“I won’t say what we’re going to do,” he added. “It’s better to talk about operations after you launch them, not before .... We will prevail, Hamas will pay the price. If they want a fight, we will defeat them. If they want to behave and talk through a third party, we will listen to them,” he said.

War, he added, “is the last option,” a worst-case scenario.

Similarly, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said: “We are now close to a no-choice war against Hamas in Gaza. We must strike hard to restore deterrence.

“Today, the political and military service are close to reaching the same conclusion,” he added.

Following the speeches, Netanyahu told ministers to follow the talking points that were agreed upon in the security cabinet. Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report. •