At the first meeting since December, Israeli Prime Minister approached the offensive in Gaza, Iran’s nuclear weapons and the Hethis campaign in Yemen
Israeli Prime Minister broke the silence on Wednesday at a press conference with explosive statements and firm promises. It was the first in five months and served to reinforce Israel’s position on and send clear messages to the international community.
Benjamin Netanyahu left no doubt for even bad interpretations: the offensive in Gaza will continue until the total defeat of Hamas.
“Our forces are unleashing powerful blows that will become even stronger against Hamas strongholds in Gaza. We are increasingly gaining territory to clean terrorists and Hamas terrorist infrastructure,” Netanyahu said.
At the end of the military operation, the Israeli leader promised that “all Gaza territories will be under Israel’s security control.” He added, “Hamas will be totally defeated.”
Despite the “hardness” of his military campaign, Israeli Prime Minister made a point of underlining that he authorized the renewed entry of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. However, it was not by concession, but by strategy.
“We want to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and maintain the support of our allies. Our closest friends, including US Senate members, make it clear that they will not accept a humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” he explained, reinforcing a position in which the United States continues to support the strategy taken by the Israeli government.
Netanyahu accused Hamas of diverting and selling humanitarian aid to finance his war machine, and ensured that Israel, together with the US, has developed a plan to avoid this.
The plan is divided into three phases: the immediate entry of basic foods to contain the humanitarian crisis, the opening of distribution points managed by US companies in the coming days and the creation of a “sterile zone” in southern Gaza, completely free of Hamas, to welcome civilians and ensure safe delivery of help.
“In this area, the residents of Gaza will receive complete humanitarian aid,” he promised.
End of war? Only with guarantees
Netanyahu’s response to international calls for a ceasefire is unambiguous: “We are ready to end the war, but under clear conditions.”
Among these conditions, the Prime Minister highlighted the return of all Israeli hostages, Hamas Disarmament, Gaza’s Hamas Leadership, Total Demilitarization of Territory and the Trump Plan Implementation for the Region.
“Those who ask for the end of the war without these conditions are, in fact, to ask Hamas to continue in power and to rear to commit new atrocities,” he said.
Netanyahu also responded to internal criticism, namely the accusations of Yair Golan, former chief of the defense forces of Israel (IDF) and current leader of the Democratic Party, which accused Israeli soldiers of killing Palestinian children by sports.
“While our heroic soldiers risk their lives to protect the country and save hostages, Golan accuses them from war crimes. It’s a horrible statement. IDF do everything to avoid civilian victims. There is no more moral army in the world,” he said.
Netanyahu accused his critics of wanting only to overthrow the government and being “willing to everything, until losing this war,” to reach this end.
“Until the end, even victory,” he responded to critics.
According to the Prime Minister, there are 20 live hostages confirmed in Gaza and “up to 38” dead. But assured:
“Let’s bring everyone back. Israel has an organized plan to achieve its goals: defeating Hamas, recovering hostages, and ensuring that Gaza never represents a threat.”
In addition, he stated that Israel “apparently” killed Hamas military leader Muhammad Sinwar.
Since the Israeli offensive is not limited to Gaza, Netanyahu assured that the campaign against the hethis in Yemen is not over and still left an alert to Iran.
“Iran remains a serious threat. Israel is in total coordination with the US. We talk to them all the time. We expect an agreement that prevents the will from obtaining nuclear weapons, which means to prevent the ability to enrich uranium. If there is no agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend against a regime that promises to destroy us,” concludes Israelite leader.
