Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on Monday night reiterated his commitment to total victory in the
ongoing war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
“We are not willing to compromise on less
than a total victory over the murderers of Hamas. We have struck down
thousands of them. We are hounding their leaders. We will continue to do
so until we eliminate Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
Until we return our 120 hostages, both living and deceased. Until we
ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat against Israel, and until
we return the residents of the south and the north safely to their
homes. Nothing will stop us,” said Netanyahu in an address at the
Knesset in Jerusalem.
“We are in a fight for our existence, a
fight being conducted on seven fronts. The attack against us is being
led by Iran, which openly seeks to destroy us. Iran and its proxies have
been scheming to do this through missile attacks against Israel and by
invading our territory. The more we deepen the war in the Gaza Strip,
the more we discover additional evidence of the scope of the multi-front
campaign against us,” continued the premier.
“We will thwart this campaign. We will
thwart it because Iran has completely misjudged us. It did not take into
account our strength, our capabilities, our determination to defend
ourselves and to impose a destructive cost on our aggressor,” said
Netanyahu.
“I say to you, members of Knesset, and to
the citizens of Israel, we are faced with great challenges and we face
difficult decisions. They will require sacrifice, courage and internal
unity. I promise you three things:
“First, we will not end the war until we
return all of our hostages. … We are committed to the Israeli proposal,
which President [Joe] Biden has welcomed. Our position has not changed;
“Second, which does not contradict the
first [promise], we will not end the war until we eliminate Hamas and
until we return the residents of the south and the north securely to
their homes;
“And third—at any price and in any way, we will thwart Iran’s intentions to destroy us.”
On Sunday night, Netanyahu told Channel 14
that with intense fighting in Gaza winding down, Jerusalem will deploy
more troops to the northern border to defend against increasing
Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon.
The interview came as Iran-backed Hezbollah continued
to launch drones and anti-tank missiles at the Galilee, wounding three
Israelis on Sunday, two of whom were listed as being in serious
condition.
Netanyahu added that the Israeli military
will continue to “mow the grass” in Gaza constantly to prevent the
enclave from becoming a threat again.
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