Netanyahu: We’ll kill Hamas’s leaders and end war in months

ISRAEL will eliminate Hamas’s leadership and end the war in Gaza within “months”, Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed.

The Israeli prime minister made the pledge as he faces serious questions over whether the Israeli Defense Forces can defeat the terrorist group, which has been rebuilding its battalions in the northern part of the Strip.

He is also under pressure to agree to a truce and secure the release of the remaining 132 Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu insisted that the war would not conclude before Israel had fulfilled its stated military objectives, but downplayed suggestions it would be pulled into a “forever war”.

“Our goal is a complete victory over Hamas,” Mr Netanyahu told a meeting of his party, Likud.

“We will kill the Hamas leadership, therefore we must continue to act in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli leader continued.

“The war must not end before then. It will take time, months not years.”

Mr Netanyahu claimed that Israel had destroyed three-quarters of Hamas’s battalions, and would deal a “fatal blow” to the Middle East’s “axis of evil”: Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

He added that Hamas had presented “demands that we will not accept” over the release of hostages.

Israel has recently been forced to renew its efforts in the northern part of Gaza, having previously withdrawn forces to concentrate on its campaign in the south.

However, it was forced to change course amid warnings that Hamas was rebuilding northern battalions shattered earlier in the war. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimate roughly 2,000 Hamas fighters remain in the north of the Strip.

Its 162nd Division is “increasing the pace of operations and the pressure” on Hamas’ remnants in the area, according to The Times of Israel.

However, Mr Netanyahu is reportedly under growing pressure from Joe Biden, the US president, to end the war before he stands for re-election in November.

Politico reported yesterday that Mr Biden had called his Israeli counterpart a “bad f---ing guy” amid growing divisions over the war.

The US is thought to be alarmed by Mr Netanyahu’s lack of vision for ending the conflict and his opposition to Palestinian governance of Gaza.